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Sir  C.  Hobhouse,  Bart., 
Manor  House, 

Monkton  Farleigh, 
Bradford-on-Avon. 


^  ,  /^c^^^!^t^i<^'u^^ 


PAROCHIAL   SERMONS. 


BY 

JOHN    HENRY   NEWMAN,   M.A. 

VICAR  OF  ST.  MARY  THE  VIRGIN's,  OXFORD, 
AND  FELLOW  OF  ORIEL  COLLEGE. 


VOL.  n. 

FOR  THE  FESTIVALS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


"  Well  to  celebrate  these  Religious  and  Sacred  Days,  is  to  spend  the  flower  of  our  time 
happily.  They  are  the  splendour  and  outward  dignity  of  our  religion,  forcible  witnesses 
of  ancient  Truth,  provocations  to  the  exercises  of  all  piety,  shadows  of  our  endless  felicity 
in  heaven,  on  earth  everlasting  records  and  memorials ;  wherein  they  which  cannot  be 
drawn  to  hearken  unto  that  we  teach,  may,  only  by  looking  upon  that  we  do,  in  a  manner 
read  whatsoever  we  believe."— Hooker,  Eccles.  Pol.  v.  71. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED  FOR  J.  G.  &  F.  RIVINGTON, 

ST.  Paul's  church  yard,  and  waterlog  place,  pall  mall; 
&  J.  H.  PARKER,  OXFORD. 

1836. 


LONDON : 

Gilbert  &  Rivington,  Printers, 
St.  John's  Square. 


TO 

JOHN  WILLIAM  BOWDEN,  ESQ. 

&c.  &c. 

IN    THE    CHEERFUL    CONVICTION 

THAT    THE    ENGLISH    CHURCH 

AMID    MANY    DEFECTIONS 

STILL    HOLDS    HER    INFLUENCE    OVER    AN 

ATTACHED    AND    ZEALOUS   LAITY, 

THIS  VOLUME 

IS    INSCRIBED, 
BY    HIS    AFFECTIONATE    FRIEND, 

J.    H.    N. 

Feb.  2lst,  1885. 


? 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Some  explanation  may  be  necessary  by  way  of 
introducing  the  Reader  to  the  Sermons  contained 
in  this  Volume.  It  has  been  the  writer's  practice 
upon  Festivals,  in  the  course  of  the  Morning 
Service  appointed  for  each,  to  read  a  short  Lec- 
ture. When  he  applied  himself  to  prepare  these 
Lectures  for  the  press,  he  found  that  some  of  them 
required  re-writing,  and  others  enlarging ;  while 
those  which  belonged  to  the  Sunday  Festivals  neces- 
sarily varied  in  length  and  style  from  such  as  had 
been  read  on  Week-days.  The  consequence  has 
been,  that  what  was  originally  a  series  abrupt  and 
incomplete  in  point  of  composition,  is  now  wanting 
also  in  uniformity  of  character,  without,  in  many 
cases,  becoming  exempt  from  its  first  defect.  More- 
over, the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written, 
have  occasioned,  in  some  places,  a  particularity  of 

A  2 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

remark,  which  could  hardly  have  been  ventured  on 
in  a  large  and  mixed  congregation,  and  elsewhere  a 
line  of  thought  more  abstruse  or  argumentative  than 
is  commonly  advisable  in  Parochial  Sermons. 

This  is  said,  only  as  an  apology  for  the  parti- 
cular form  and  cast  of  the  Volume.  As  for  the 
matter  itself,  did  the  writer  ask  any  indulgence 
for  it,  he  would  incur  the  inconsistency  of  imply- 
ing that  it  ought  not  to  have  been  given  to  the 
world.  Yet  he  may  be  allowed  to  entreat,  in 
respect  both  of  this  and  of  his  former  Volume, 
that  if  there  are  persons  who  at  first  reading  feel 
apprehensive  that  some  of  his  statements  are  of 
hurtful  tendency,  they  would  deal  more  fairly  with 
themselves  than  to  begin  with  a  critical,  instead  of 
a  practical  consideration  of  them  ;  and,  that,  before 
they  allow  themselves  to  fear  for  others,  they  would 
consider  whether  the  statements  in  question  have 
had  any  bad  effect  on  their  own  minds.  This  he 
says,  not  as  forgetful  that  the  true  standard  and 
test  of  religious  teaching  are,  not  its  apparent 
effects  one  way  or  the  other,  but  the  rule  of 
Scripture  and  Antiquity;  but,  anticipating  that 
objections  will  be  brought  rather  from  the  supposed 


ADVERTISEMENT.  V 

consequences  of  his  doctrine,  than  its  want  of  au- 
thority, he  is  desirous  that  these  consequences 
should  be  fairly  proved  before  they  are  imputed. 
On  the  other  hand,  should  any  reader  be  led  to  sup- 
pose that  any  thing  has  been  said  by  way  of  para- 
dox or  for  novelty's  sake,  let  him  first  of  all  inquire, 
whether  the  points  objected  to  do  not  rather  form 
part  of  a  whole, — of  one  integral  view  of  doctrine, 
which  has  ever  been  supposed  to  descend  in  an 
unbroken  line  from  the  first  ages  of  the  Gospel,  and 
which,  far  from  being  the  mere  food  of  idle  and 
ingenious  intellects,  has  before  now  influenced 
Christians  to  suffer  and  to  lose  their  all  in  main- 
tenance of  it. 

He  ventures  further  to  hope,  that  he  may  not 
unnecessarily  be  supposed  in  any  part  of  his 
Volumes,  to  be  hazarding  remarks  on  opinions  or 
practices  existing  within  the  Church.  There  are 
for  the  most  part  objects  enough  external  to  it, 
which  answer  to  them,  and  far  more  legitimately ; 
and  if  there  is  sufficient  reason  for  noticing  the 
mistakes  in  question,  on  account  of  the  existing 
insensibility  of  Society  to  the  real  moral  differences 
between  the  Sectarian  and  the  High  Apostolical 
temper,  he  conceives  that  they  should  not  find  a 


VI  ADVERTISEMENT. 

shelter  in  the   mere   accident,  that  they  are  not 
altogether  without  advocates  among  ourselves. 

In  conclusion,  he  must  express  his  great  obliga- 
tions, in  the  matter  of  these  Volumes,  to  the  un- 
conscious assistance  of  a  Friend,  with  whom  he  is 
in  habits  of  familiarity,  and  whose  stray  observa- 
tions he  has  pleasure  in  detecting  in  them.  He 
makes  this  acknowledgment  in  case  any  coinci- 
dences of  remark  should  be  hereafter  traceable 
between  them  and  any  future  publication  of  the 
Author  of  the  Christian  Year. 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  I. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  ANDREW  THE  APOSTLE. 

THE   world's   benefactors. 

John  i.  40. 

PAGE 

One  of  the  two  which  heard  John  speak,  and  followed  Him,  was 
Andrew,  Simon  Peter's  brother  .-.. 1 

SERMON  II. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  THOMAS  THE  APOSTLE. 

FAITH    WITHOUT   SIGHT. 

John  xx.  29. 

Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed ;  blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed  14 

SERMON  III. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  OUR  LORD. 

THE    INCARNATION. 

John  i.  14. 
The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us 29 


VIU  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  IV. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  STEPHEN  THE  MARTYR. 

MARTYRDOM. 
Heb.  xi.  37. 

PAGE 

They  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were 

slain  with  the  sword 46 

SERMON  V. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST. 
LOVE   OF   RELATIONS   AND   FRIENDS. 

1  John  iv.  7- 
Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  is  of  God 57 

SERMON  VI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  HOLY  INNOCENTS. 
THE   MIND    OF   LITTLE    CHILDREN. 

Matt,  xviii.  3. 

Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall 
not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven    68 

SERMON  VII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  OUR  LORD. 

CEREMONIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Matt.  iii.  15. 

SuflFer  it  to  be  so  now;  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all 
righteousness , . .     76 


CONTENTS.  IX 

SERMON  VIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  EPIPHANY. 

THE   GLORY   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 

Isaiah  Ix,  1. 

PAGE 

Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is 
risen  upon  thee 88 

SERMON  IX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

VIEWED    IN    REFERENCE    TO    HIS   OFFICE. 

1  CoR.  XV.  9,  10. 

I  am  the  least  of  the  Apostles,  that  am  not  meet  to  be  called  an 
Apostle,  because  I  persecuted  the  Church  of  God.  But  by 
the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am  :  and  His  grace  which  was 
bestowed  upon  me  was  not  in  vain;  but  I  laboured  more 
abundantly  than  they  all :  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
which  was  with  me 106 

SERMON  X. 

THE  FEAST  OF   THE  PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

SECRECY    AND    SUDDENNESS   OF    DIVINE   VISITATIONS. 

Luke  xviii.  20. 
The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation  119 


X  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHIAS  THE  APOSTLE. 

DIVINE    DECREES. 
Rev.  iii.  11. 

PAGE 

Hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown  ....  131 
SERMON  XII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

THE   REVERENCE   DUE   TO    HER. 

Luke  i.  48. 
From  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed 142 

SERMON  XIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
CHRIST,    A    QUICKENING   SPIRIT. 

Luke  xxiv.  5,  6. 

Why  seek  ye  the  Living  among  the  dead  ?     He  is  not  here,  but  is 
risen   ^-... ..,.  156 

SERMON  XIV. 

MONDAY  IN  EASTER   WEEK. 

SAVING   KNOWLEDGE. 

1  John  ii.  3. 

Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His  com- 
mandments     170 

1 


CONTENTS.  XI 

SERMON  XV. 

TUESDAY  IN  EASTER  WEEK. 

SELF-CONTEMPLATION. 

Hebrews  xii.  2. 

PAGE 

Looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith 183 

SERMON  XVI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MARK  THE  EVANGELIST. 
RELIGIOUS   COWARDICE. 

Hebrews  xii.  12. 
Lift  up  the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  the  feeble  knees 196 

SERMON    XVII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES 
THE  APOSTLES. 

THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES. 

2  Cor.  xiii.  1. 

In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be  esta- 
blished     204 

SERMON  XVIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ASCENSION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION. 

Romans  viii.  34. 

It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for 
us 230 


XU  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XIX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  PENTECOST. 

THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 

Romans  viii.  9. 

PAGE 

Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of 

God  dwell  in  you 242 

SERMON  XX. 

MONDAY  IN  WHITS  UN  WEEK. 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

Dan.  ii.  35. 
The  stone  that  smote  the  Image  became  a  great  Mountain,  and 

filled  the  whole  earth ^. .  ► 259 

SERMON  XXI. 

TUESDAY  IN   WHITSUN  WEEK. 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

DAN.ii.  35. 
The  stone  that  smote  the  Image  became  a  great  Mountain,  and 

filled  the  whole  earth 272 

SERMON  XXII. 

TRINITY  SUNDAY. 

THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US. 

2  Tim.  vi.  20,  21. 
O  Timothy,  keep  that  which  is  committed  to  Thy  trust,  avoiding 
profane  and  vain  babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely 
so  called ;  which  some  professing,  have  erred  concerning  the 
Faith 284 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

SERMON  XXIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARNABAS  THE  APOSTLE. 

TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR. 

Acts  xi.  24. 

PAGE 

He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  faith ....  305 

SERMON  XXIV. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST. 

REBUKING  SIN. 

Mark  vi.  18. 

John  had  said  unto  Herod,  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  thy 

brother's  wife 324 

SERMON  XXV. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PETER  THE  APOSTLE. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 

Luke  vii.  28. 
I  say  unto  you.  Among  those  that  are  born  of  women  there  is  not 
a  greater  prophet  than  John  the  Baptist :  but  he  that  is  least 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  is  greater  than  he 332 

SERMON  XXVI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JAMES  THE  APOSTLE. 

HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY. 

Matt.  xx.  23. 
To  sit  on  My  right  hand  and  on  My  left,  is  not  Mine  to  give ;  but 
it  shall  be  given  to  them  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  My 
Father „ 357 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

t 

SERMON  XXVII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.   BARTHOLOMEW  THE  APOSTLE. 

GUILELESSNESS. 

John  i.  47. 

PAGE 

Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming  to  Him,  and  saith  of  him.  Behold 

an  Israehte  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile 372 

SERMON  XXVIII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHEW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  DANGER  OF  RICHES. 

Luke  vi.  24. 

Woe  unto  you  that  are  rich !  for  ye  have  received  your  consola- 
tion  ,    383 

SERMON   XXIX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MICHAEL  AND  ALL  ANGELS. 

THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE. 

Psalm  civ.  4. 
Who  maketh  His  Angels  spirits.  His  Ministers  a  flaming  fire. .      400 

SERMON  XXX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  LUKE  THE  EVANGELIST. 

THE  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 

ExoD.  xxxi.  6. 
In  the  hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted,  I  have  put  wisdom  ....    411 


CONTENTS.  XV 

SERMON    XXXI. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE  THE  APOSTLES. 

CHRISTIAN  ZEAL. 
John  ii.  17. 

PAGE 

The  zeal  of  Thine  House  hath  eaten  Me  up 424 

SERMON  XXXII. 

THE  FEAST  OF  ALL  SAINTS. 
USE  OF  saints'  days. 

Acts  i.  8. 

Ye  shall  be  Witnesses  unto  Me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth    440 


SERMON  I. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  ANDREW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS. 


John  i.  40. 


One  of  the  two  which  heard  John  speak,  and  followed  him,  was 
Andrew,  Simon  Peter's  brother. 

With  this  Festival  we  begin  our  year, — thus  usher- 
ing in,  with  a  few  weeks  of  preparation,  the  day  of 
Christ's  Nativity.  St.  Andrew,  whom  we  now  com- 
memorate, has  been  placed  first  of  the  Apostles, 
because,  (as  far  as  Scripture  informs  us,)  he  was 
the  first  among  them  who  found  the  Messiah,  and 
sought  to  be  His  disciple.  The  circumstances 
which  preceded  his  call  are  related  in  the  passage 
of  the  Gospel  from  which  the  text  is  taken. 
We  are  there  informed  that  it  was  John  the 
Baptist  who  pointed  out  to  him  his  Saviour.  It 
was  fitting  that  the  forerunner  of  Christ  should  be 
the  instrument  of  leading  to  Him  the  first-fruits  of 
his  Apostles. 

VOL.  II.  B 


2  ST.  ANDREW.  [Serm. 

St.  Andrew,  who  was  already  one  of  St.  John's 
disciples,  was  attending  on  his  master  with  another, 
when,  as  it  happened,  Jesus  passed  by.  The 
Baptist,  who  had  from  the  first  declared  his  own 
subordinate  place  in  the  dispensation  which  was 
then  opening,  took  this  occasion  of  pointing  out  to 
his  two  disciples  Him  in  whom  it  centered.  He 
said,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God ;  this  is  He  of 
whom  I  spake,  whom  the  Father  has  chosen  and 
sent,  the  true  sacrificial  Lamb,  by  whose  sufferings 
the  sins  of  the  world  will  be  expiated."  On 
hearing  this,  the  two  disciples,  (Andrew,  I  say, 
being  one  of  them,)  straightway  left  John  and 
followed  Christ.  He  turned  round  and  asked 
them,  "  What  seek  ye?"  They  expressed  their 
desire  to  be  allowed  to  wait  upon  His  teaching ; 
and  He  suffered  them  to  accompany  Him  home, 
and  to  pass  that  day  with  Him.  What  He  said 
to  them  is  not  told  us ;  but  St.  Andrew  received 
such  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  Baptist's 
words,  that  in  consequence  he  went  after  his  own 
brother  to  tell  him  what  he  had  found.  "  He  first 
findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto 
him,  we  have  found  the  Messias  ....  and  he 
brought  him  to  Jesus." 

St.  John  the  Evangelist,  who  has  been  guided  to 
preserve  various  notices  concerning  the  separate 
Apostles,  which  are  not  contained  in  the  three  first 
Gospels,  speaks  of  Andrew  in  two  other  places  ;  and 
introduces   him   under  circumstances,  which  show 


I.]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  3 

that,  little  as  is  known  of  this  Apostle  now,  he  was, 
in  fact,  very  high  in  the  favour  and  confidence  of 
his  Lord.  In  his  twelfth  chapter  he  describes 
Andrew  as  bringing  to  Christ  certain  Greeks 
who  came  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship,  and  who 
were  desirous  of  seeing  Him.  And,  what  is  re- 
markable, these  strangers  had  first  applied  to 
St.  Philip,  who,  though  an  Apostle  himself,  in- 
stead of  taking  upon  him  to  introduce  them,  had 
recourse  to  his  fellow-townsman,  St.  Andrew,  as 
if,  whether  from  age  or  intimacy  with  Christ,  a 
more  suitable  channel  for  furthering  their  petition. 
"  Philip  cometh,  and  telleth  Andrew ;  and  again, 
Andrew  and  Philip  tell  Jesus." 

These  two  Apostles  are  also  mentioned  together 
in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  same  Gospel,  at  the 
consultation  which  preceded  the  miracle  of  the 
loaves  and  fishes;  and  there  again  Andrew  is  en- 
gaged, as  before,  in  the  office  of  introducing 
strangers  to  Christ.  "  There  is  a  lad  here,"  he 
says  to  his  Lord,  a  lad  who,  perhaps,  had  not 
courage  to  come  forward  of  himself,  "which  hath 
five  barley  loaves  and  two  small  fishes." 

The  information  afforded  by  these  passages,  of 
St.  Andrew's  especial  acceptableness  to  Christ 
among  the  Apostles,  is  confirmed  by  the  only 
place  in  the  other  Gospels,  besides  the  catalogue, 
in  which  his  name  occurs.  After  our  Lord  had 
predicted  the  ruin  of  the  Temple,  "  Peter,  James, 
John,  and  Andrew,  asked  Him  privately,  Tell  us, 

b2 


4  ST.  ANDREW.  [Skrm. 

when  shall  these  things  be  *  ?"  and  it  was  to  these 
four  that  our  Saviour  revealed  the  signs  of  His 
coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world.  Here  St. 
Andrew  is  represented  as  in  the  especial  confidence 
of  Christ ;  and  associated  too  with  those  Apostles, 
whom  He  is  known  to  have  selected  from  the 
Twelve,  on  various  occasions,  by  tokens  of  his 
peculiar  favour. 

Little  is  known  of  St.  Andrew  in  addition  to 
these  inspired  notices  of  him.  He  is  said  to  have 
preached  the  Gospel  in  Scythia ;  and  he  was  at 
length  martyred  in  Achaia.  His  death  was  by 
crucifixion ;  that  kind  of  cross  being  used,  accord- 
ing to  the  tradition,  which  still  goes  by  his  name. 

Yet,  little  as  Scripture  tells  us  concerning  him,  it 
affords  us  enough  for  a  lesson,  and  that  an  import- 
ant one.  These  are  the  facts  before  us.  St. 
Andrew  was  the  first  convert  among  the  Apostles  ; 
he  was  especially  in  our  Lord's  confidence ;  thrice 
is  he  described  as  introducing  others  to  Him; 
lastly,  he  is  little  known  in  history,  while  the  place 
of  dignity  and  the  name  of  highest  renown,  have 
been  allotted  to  his  brother  Simon,  whom  he  was 
the  means  of  bringing  to  the  knowledge  of  his 
Saviour. 

Our  lesson,  then,  is  this ;  that  those  men  are  not 
necessarily  the  most  useful  men  in  their  genera- 
tion, nor  the  most  favoured  by  God,  who  make  the 

'  Mark  xiii.  3. 


I.]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  5 

most  noise  in  the  world,  and  who  seem  to  be  prin- 
cipals in  the  great  changes  and  events  recorded  in 
history ;  on  the  contrary,  that  even  when  we  are 
able  to  point  to  a  certain  number  of  men  as  the 
real  instruments  of  any  great  blessings  vouchsafed 
to  mankind,  our  relative  estimate  of  them,  one  with 
another,  is  often  very  erroneous  :  so  that  on  the 
whole,  if  we  would  trace  truly  the  hand  of  God  in 
human  affairs,  and  pursue  His  bounty  as  displayed 
in  the  world  to  its  original  sources,  we  must  unlearn 
our  admiration  of  the  powerful  and  distinguished, 
our  reliance  on  the  opinion  of  society,  our  respect 
for  the  decisions  of  the  learned  or  the  multitude, 
and  turn  our  eyes  to  private  life,  watching  in  all 
we  read  or  witness  for  the  true  signs  of  God's 
presence,  the  graces  of  personal  holiness  mani- 
fested in  His  elect ;  which,  weak  as  they  may  seem 
to  mankind,  are  mighty  through  God,  and  have  an 
influence  upon  the  course  of  His  Providence,  and 
bring  about  great  events  in  the  world  at  large, 
when  the  wisdom  and  strength  of  the  natural  man 
are  of  no  avail. 

Now,  first,  observe  the  operation  of  this  law  of 
God's  government,  in  respect  to  the  introduction 
of  those  temporal  blessings  which  are  of  the  first 
importance  in  securing  our  well-being  and  comfort 
in  the  present  life.  For  example,  who  was  the 
first  cultivator  of  corn  ?  who  first  tamed  and 
domesticated  the  animals  whose  strength  we  use, 
and    whom    we    make    our   food?      Or    who    first 


6  ST.  ANDREW.  [Serm. 

discovered  the  medicinal  herbs  which,  from  the 
earliest  times,  have  been  our  resource  against 
disease  ?  If  it  was  mortal  man,  who  thus  looked 
through  the  vegetable  and  animal  worlds,  and  dis- 
criminated between  the  useful  and  the  worthless, 
his  name  is  unknown  to  the  millions  whom  he 
has  benefited.  It  is  notorious,  that  those  who 
first  suggest  the  most  happy  inventions,  and  open  a 
way  to  the  secret  stores  of  nature, — those  who 
weary  themselves  in  the  search  after  Truth,  strike 
out  momentous  principles  of  action,  painfully  force 
upon  their  contemporaries  the  adoption  of  bene- 
ficial measures,  or,  again,  are  the  original  cause 
of  the  chief  events  in  national  history,  are  com- 
monly supplanted,  as  regards  celebrity  and  reward, 
by  inferior  men.  Their  works  are  not  called  after 
them ;  nor  the  arts  and  systems  which  they  have 
given  the  world.  Their  schools  are  usurped  by 
strangers ;  and  their  maxims  of  wisdom  circulate 
among  the  children  of  their  people,  forming, 
perhaps,  a  nation's  character,  but  not  embalming  in 
their  own  immortality  the  names  of  their  original 
authors. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  social  and  political 
world  ;  and  the  rule  discernible  in  it  is  still  more 
clearly  established  in  the  world  of  morals  and  reli- 
gion. Who  taught  the  Doctors  and  Saints  of  the 
Church,  who,  in  their  day,  or  in  after  times,  have 
been  the  most  illustrious  expounders  of  the  pre- 
cepts of  right  and  wTong,  and,  by  word  and  deed, 


I.]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  7 

are  the  guides  of  our  conduct?  Did  Almighty 
Wisdom  speak  to  them  through  the  operation  of 
their  own  minds,  or  rather,  did  it  not  subject  them 
to  instructors  unknown  to  fame,  wiser  perhaps 
even  than  themselves  ?  Andrew  followed  John  the 
Baptist,  while  Simon  remained  at  his  nets.  Andrew 
first  recognised  the  Messiah  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  despised  Nazareth ;  and  he  brought  his 
brother  to  him.  Yet  to  Andrew  Christ  spake  no 
word  of  commendation,  which  has  been  allowed  to 
continue  on  record ;  whereas  to  Simon,  even  on 
his  first  coming.  He  gave  the  honourable  name  by 
which  he  is  now  designated,  and  afterwards  put 
him  forward  as  the  typical  foundation  of  His 
Church.  Nothing  indeed  can  hence  be  inferred, 
one  way  or  the  other,  concerning  the  relative  ex- 
cellence of  the  two  brothers ;  so  far  only  appears, 
that,  in  the  providential  course  of  events,  the  one 
was  the  secret  beginner,  and  the  other  the  public 
instrument  of  a  great  divine  work.  St.  Paul, 
again,  was  honoured  with  the  distinction  of  a 
miraculous  conversion,  and  was  called  to  be  the 
chief  agent  of  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  among 
the  heathen ;  yet  to  Ananias,  an  otherwise  un- 
known saint,  dwelling  at  Damascus,  was  com- 
mitted the  high  office  of  conveying  the  gifts  of 
pardon  and  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles. 

Providence  thus  acts  daily.     The   early  life   of 
all   men  is  private ;  it   is   as   children,  generally, 


8  ST.  ANDREW.  [Serm. 

that  their  characters  are  formed  to  good  or  evil; 
and  those  who  form  them  to  good,  their  truest 
and  chief  benefactors,  are  unknown  to  the  world. 
It  has  been  remarked,  that  some  of  the  most  emi- 
nent Christians  have  been  blessed  with  religious 
mothers,  and  have  in  after  life  referred  their  own 
graces  to  the  instrumentality  of  their  teaching. 
Augustine  has  preserved  to  the  Church  the  history 
of  his  mother  Monica ;  but  in  the  case  of  others, 
even  the  name  is  denied  to  us  of  our  great  bene- 
factress, whosoever  she  was, — and  sometimes,  doubt- 
less, the  circumstunce  of  her  service  altogether. 

When  we  look  at  the  history  of  inspiration,  the 
same  rule  still  holds.  Consider  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, which  "  makes  us  wise  unto  salvation."  How 
great  a  part  of  it  is  written  by  authors  un- 
known !  The  book  of  Judges,  the  Second  of 
Samuel,  the  books  of  Kings,  Chronicles,  Esther, 
and  Job,  and  great  part  of  the  book  of  Psalms. 
The  last  instance  is  the  most  remarkable  of  these. 
"  Profitable"  beyond  words  as  is  the  instniction 
conveyed  to  us  in  every  page  of  Scripture,  yet  the 
Psalms  have  been  the  most  directly  and  visibly 
useful  part  of  the  whole  volume,  having  been  the 
prayer-book  of  the  Church  ever  since  they  were 
written ;  and  have  done  more,  (as  far  as  we  dare 
judge,)  to  prepare  souls  for  heaven,  than  any  of 
the  inspired  books,  except  the  Gospels.  Yet,  the 
authors  of  a  large  portion  of  them  are  altogether 
unknown.     And  so  with  the  Liturgies,  Mhich  have 


L]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  9 

been  the  possession  of  the  Christian  Church  from 
the  beginning;  who  were  those  matured  and  ex- 
alted Saints  who  left  them  to  us  ?  Nay,  in  the 
whole  system  of  our  worship,  who  are  the  authors 
of  each  decorous  provision  and  each  edifying  cus- 
tom ?  Who  found  out  the  musical  tunes,  in  which 
our  praises  are  offered  up  to  God,  and  in  which 
resides  so  wondrous  a  persuasion  "  to  worship  and 
fall  down,  and  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  Maker?" 
Who  were  those  religious  men,  our  spiritual  fathers 
in  the  "  Catholic  faith,"  who  raised  of  old  time  the 
excellent  fabrics  all  over  the  country,  in  which  we 
worship,  though  with  less  of  grateful  reverence  for 
their  memory  than  we  might  piously  express  ?  Of 
these  greatest  men  in  every  age,  there  is  "  no  me- 
morial :"  they  "  are  perished  as  though  they  had 
never  been,  and  become  as  though  they  had  never 
been  born." 

Now  I  know  that  reflections  of  this  kind  are  apt 
to  sadden  and  vex  us ;  and  such  of  us  particularly 
as  are  gifted  with  ardent  and  enthusiastic  minds, 
with  a  generous  love  of  what  is  great  and  good, 
and  a  noble  hatred  of  injustice.  These  men  find 
it  difficult  to  reconcile  themselves  to  the  notion 
that  the  triumph  of  the  Truth  in  all  its  forms,  is 
postponed  to  the  next  world.  They  would  fain 
anticipate  the  coming  of  the  righteous  Judge ;  nay, 
perhaps  they  are  somewhat  too  favourably  disposed 
towards  the  present  world,  to  acquiesce  without 
resistance  in  a  doctrine  which  testifies  to  the  cor- 


10  ST.  ANDREW.  [Serm. 

ruption  of  its  decisions,  and  the  worthlessness  of 
its  honours.  But  that  it  is  a  truth,  has  already 
been  showed  almost  as  matter  of  fact,  putting  the 
evidence  of  Scripture  out  of  consideration ;  and  if 
it  be  such,  it  is  our  wisdom,  as  it  will  become  our 
privilege,  to  accustom  our  minds  to  it,  and  to  re- 
ceive it,  not  in  word  merely,  but  in  seriousness. 

Why  indeed  should  we  shrink  from  this  gracious 
law  of  God's  present  providence  in  our  own  case, 
or  in  the  case  of  those  we  love,  when  our  subjec- 
tion to  it  does  but  associate  us  with  the  best  and 
noblest  of  our  race,  and  with  beings  of  nature  and 
condition  superior  to  our  own  ?  Andrew  is  scarcely 
known,  except  by  name;  while  Peter  has  ever 
held  the  place  of  honour  all  over  the  Church ;  yet 
Andrew  brought  Peter  to  Christ.  And  are  not  the 
Blessed  Angels  unknown  to  the  world?  and  is  not 
God  Himself,  the  Author  of  all  good,  hid  from 
mankind  at  large,  partially  manifested  and  poorly 
glorified,  in  a  few  scattered  servants  here  and  there? 
and  His  Spirit,  do  we  know  whence  It  cometh,  and 
whither  It  goeth  ?  and  though  He  has  taught  men 
whatever  there  has  been  of  wisdom  among  them 
from  the  beginning,  yet  when  He  came  on  earth 
in  visible  form,  even  then  it  was  said  of  Him,  "  The 
world  knew  Him  not."  His  marvellous  providence 
works  beneath  a  veil,  which  speaks  but  an  untrue 
language ;  and,  to  see  Him  who  is  the  Truth  and 
the  Life,  we  must  stoop  underneath  it,  and  so  in 
our  turn  hide  ourselves  from  the  world.     They  who 

1-2 


I.]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  1 1 

present  themselves  at  kings'  courts,  pass  on  to  the 
inner  chambers,  where  the  gaze  of  the  rude  multi- 
tude cannot  pierce ;  and  we,  if  we  would  see  the 
King  of  kings  in  His  glory,  must  be  content  to 
disappear  from  the  things  that  are  seen.  Hid  are 
the  saints  of  God ;  if  they  are  known  to  men,  it  is 
accidentally,  in  their  temporal  offices,  as  holding 
some  high  earthly  station,  or  effecting  some  mere 
civil  work,  not  as  saints.  St.  Peter  has  a  place  in 
history,  far  more  as  a  chief  instrument  of  a  strange 
revolution  in  human  affairs,  than  in  his  true  cha- 
racter, as  a  self-denying  follower  of  his  Lord,  to 
whom  truths  were  revealed  which  flesh  and  blood 
could  not  discern. 

How  poor-spirited  are  we,  and  what  dishonour 
we  put  upon  the  capabilities  and  the  true  excel- 
lence of  our  nature,  when  we  subject  it  to  the 
judgment  and  disposal  of  all  its  baser  specimens, 
to  the  rude  and  ignorant  praise,  and  poor  recom- 
pensing of  carnal  and  transgressing  man !  How 
shall  the  flesh  be  at  all  a  judge  of  the  spirit  ?  or  the 
sinner  of  God's  elect  ?  Are  we  to  look  downwards, 
not  upwards?  Shall  we  basely  acknowledge  the 
right  of  the  Many,  who  tread  the  broad  way,  to  be 
the  judge  of  holiness,  which  comes  from  God,  and 
appeals  to  Him  ?  And  does  not  the  eye  of  faith 
discern  witnesses  of  our  conduct,  ever  present,  and 
far  worthier  of  our  respect,  than  even  a  world  of  the 
ungodly?  Is  man  the  noblest  being  in  the  creation? 
Surely  we,  as  well  as  our  Divine  Lord,  are  "  seen 


12  ST.  ANDREW.  [Serm. 

of  Angels ;"  nay,  and  ministered  unto  by  them, 
much  as  they  excel  us  in  strength !  St.  Paul 
plainly  tells  us  that  it  is  God's  purpose  that  "  His 
manifold  wisdom  should  be  known  to  the  heavenly 
principalities  and  powers,  through  the  Church '." 
When  we  are  made  Christians,  we  are  baptized 
"  into  that  within  the  veil,"  we  are  brought  near 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  Angels  ;  and  resem- 
bling them  in  their  hidden  condition,  share  their 
sympathy  and  their  services.  Therefore,  the  same 
Apostle  exhorts  Timothy  to  persevere  in  obedience, 
not  only  by  the  thought  of  God,  but  by  that  of  the 
Angels;  and  surely  we  ought  to  cultivate  the  habit- 
ual feeling,  that  they  see  us  in  our  most  private 
deeds,  and  most  carefully  guarded  solitudes. 

It  is  more  than  enough  for  a  sinful  mortal  to  be 
made  a  fellow-worker  and  fellow-worshipper  with 
the  Blessed  Spirits,  and  the  servant  and  the  son  of 
God  Most  High.  Rather  let  us  try  to  realize  our 
privilege,  and  withal  humble  ourselves  at  our  want 
of  faith.  We  are  the  elect  of  God,  and  have  en- 
trance "  through  the  gates  into  the''  heavenly 
"  City,"  while  we  "  do  His  commandments  ^"  fol- 
lowing Christ  as  Andrew  did,  when  pointed  out  to 
us  by  His  preachers  and  ministers.  To  those  who 
thus  "  follow  on  to  know"  Him,  He  manifests  Him- 
self, while  He  is  hid  from  the  world.  They  are 
near  Him,  as  His  confidential  servants,  and  are  the 

'  Eph.  iii.  10.  '  Rev.  xxii.  14. 


I.]  THE  WORLD'S  BENEFACTORS.  13 

real  agents  in  the  various  providences  which  occur 
in  the  history  of  nations,  though  overlooked  by 
their  annalists  and  sages.  They  bring  before  Him 
the  temporal  wants  of  men,  witnessing  His  marvel- 
lous doings  with  the  barley  loaves  and  fishes  ;  they 
too,  lead  strangers  before  Him  for  His  favourable 
notice,  and  for  His  teaching.  And,  when  He  brings 
trouble  and  distress  upon  a  sinful  people,  they  have 
truest  knowledge  of  His  will,  and  can  best  inter- 
pret His  works;  for  they  had  lived  in  contemplation 
and  prayer,  and  while  others  praise  the  goodly  stones 
and  buildings  of  the  external  Temple,  have  heard 
from  Him  in  secret  how  the  end  shall  be.  Thus 
they  live ;  and  when  they  die,  the  world  knows 
nothing  of  its  loss,  and  soon  lets  slip  what  it  might 
have  retained  of  their  history ;  but  the  Church  of 
Christ  does  what  she  can,  gathering  together  their 
relics,  and  honouring  their  name,  even  when  their 
works  cannot  be  found.  But  those  works  have  fol- 
lowed them  ;  and,  at  the  appearing  of  their  Lord  in 
judgment,  will  be  at  length  displayed  before  all  the 
world,  and  for  His  merits  eternally  rewarded  in  His 
heavenly  kingdom.  f^^^^^f^/,; 


SERMON    11. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  THOMAS  THE  APOSITjE 
FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT. 


John  xx.  29. 

Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed ;  blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed. 

St.  Thomas  is  the  Apostle  who  doubted  of  our 
Lord's  resurrection.  This  want  of  faith  has  given 
him  a  sort  of  character  in  the  minds  of  most  people, 
which  is  referred  to  in  the  Collect  for  the  day.  Yet 
we  must  not  suppose  that  he  differed  greatly  from 
the  other  Apostles.  They  all,  more  or  less,  mis- 
trusted Christ's  promises  when  they  saw  Him  led 
away  to  be  crucified.  When  He  was  buried,  their 
hopes  were  buried  with  Him ;  and  when  the  news 
was  brought  them,  that  He  was  risen  again,  they 
all  disbelieved  it.  On  His  appearing  to  them.  He 
"  upbraided  them  with  their  unbelief  and  hardness 
of  heart  ^"  But,  as  St.  Thomas  was  not  present  at 
this  time,  and  only  heard  from  his  fellow  Apostles 

*  Mark  xvi.  14. 


Seiim.  II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  15 

that  they  had  seen  the  Lord,  his  time  of  perplexity 
and  darkness  lasted  longer  than  theirs.  At  the 
news  of  this  great  miracle,  he  expressed  his  deter- 
mination not  to  believe  unless  he  himself  saw 
Christ,  and  was  allowed  to  touch  Him.  And  thus 
by  an  apparently  accidental  circumstance,  Thomas 
is  singled  out  from  his  brethren,  who  at  first  dis- 
believed as  well  as  he,  as  if  an  especial  instance  of 
unbelief.  None  of  them  believed  till  they  saw 
Christ,  except  St.  John,  and  he  too  hesitated  at 
first.  Thomas  was  convinced  latest,  because  he 
saw  Christ  latest.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  certain 
that,  though  he  disbelieved  the  good  news  of 
Christ's  resurrection  at  first,  he  was  no  cold-hearted 
follower  of  his  Lord,  as  appears  from  his  conduct 
on  a  previous  occasion,  when  he  expressed  a  desire 
to  share  danger,  and  to  suffer  with  Him.  When 
Christ  was  setting  out  for  Judaea  to  raise  Lazarus 
from  the  dead,  the  disciples  said,  "  Master,  the 
Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone  Thee,  and  goest  Thou 
thither  again '  ?"  When  He  remained  in  His  in- 
tention, Thomas  said  to  the  rest,  "  Let  us  also  go, 
that  we  may  die  with  Him."  This  journey  ended,  as 
His  Apostles  had  foreboded,  in  their  Lord's  death ; 
they  indeed  escaped,  but  it  was  at  the  instance  of 
Thomas  that  they  hazarded  their  lives  with  Him. 

St.  Thomas  then  loved  his  Master,  as  became 
an  Apostle,  and  was  devoted  to  His  service ;  but 

^  John  xi.  8. 


16  ST.  THOMAS.  [Skrm. 

when  he  saw  Him  crucified,  his  faith  failed  for  a 
season  with  that  of  the  rest.  At  the  same  time  we 
need  not  deny  that  his  especial  doubts  of  Christ's 
resurrection  were  not  altogether  owing  to  circum- 
stances, but  in  a  measure  arose  from  some  faulty 
state  of  mind.  St.  John's  narrative  itself,  and  our 
Saviour's  speech  to  him,  convey  an  impression  that 
he  was  more  to  blame  than  the  rest.  His  standing 
out  alone,  not  against  one  witness  only,  but  against 
his  ten  fellow  disciples,  besides  Mary  Magdalene 
and  the  other  women,  is  evidence  of  this ;  and  his 
very  strong  words,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  His 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger 
into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand 
into  His  side,  I  will  not  believe  \"  And  it  is  ob- 
servable, that  little  as  we  know  of  St.  Thomas,  yet 
the  one  remaining  recorded  speech  of  his  (before 
Christ's  crucifixion),  intimates  something  of  the 
same  doubting  perplexed  state  of  mind.  When 
Christ  said  He  was  going  to  his  Father,  and  by  a 
way  which  they  all  knew,  Thomas  interposed  with 
an  argument ;  "  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  Thou 
goest,  and  how  can  we  know  the  way  ^  ?"  that  is,  we 
do  not  see  heaven,  or  the  God  of  heaven,  how  can 
we  know  the  way  thither  ?  He  seems  to  have  re- 
quired some  sensible  insight  into  the  unseen  state, 
some  infallible  sign  from  heaven,  a  ladder  of  Angels 
like  Jacob's,  which  would  remove  anxiety  by  show- 

*  John  XX.  25.  *  John  xiv.  5. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  17 

ing  him  the  end  of  the  journey  at  the  time  he  set 
out.  Some  such  secret  craving  after  certainty 
beset  him.  And  a  like  desire  rose  within  him  on  the 
news  of  Christ's  resurrection.  Being  weak  in  faith, 
he  suspended  his  judgment,  and  seemed  resolved 
not  to  believe  any  thing,  till  he  was  told  every 
thing.  Accordingly,  when  our  Saviour  appeared 
to  him,  eight  days  after  His  appearance  to  the 
rest,  while  He  allowed  Thomas  his  wish,  and  satis- 
fied his  senses  that  He  was  really  alive.  He  accom- 
panied the  permission  with  a  rebuke,  and  intimated 
that  by  yielding  to  his  weakness,  he  was  withdraw- 
ing what  was  a  real  blessedness.  "  Reach  hither 
thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands,  and  reach  hither 
thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side,  and  be  not 
faithless  but  believing.  And  Thomas  answered  and 
said  unto  him,  My  Lord  and  my  God.  Jesus  saith 
unto  him,  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  me, 
thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen  and  yet  have  believed  \" 

However,  after  all,  we  are  not  so  much  con- 
cerned with  considerations  respecting  the  natural 
disposition  and  temper  of  the  Blessed  Apostle, 
whom  we  to-day  commemorate,  as  with  the  parti- 
cular circumstance  in  which  his  name  occurs,  and 
with  our  Saviour's  comment  upon  it.  All  His  dis- 
ciples minister  to  Him ;  and,  as  in  other  ways,  so 

'   1  John  XX.  27—29. 
VOL.  II.  C  * 


18  ST.  THOMAS.  [Sekm. 

also  in  giving  occasion  for  the  words  of  gi*ace 
which  proceed  from  His  mouth.  They  minister 
to  Him  even  in  their  weaknesses,  which  are  often 
brought  to  light  in  Scripture,  not  hidden  as  Chris- 
tian friends  would  hide  in  piety,  that  so  He  may 
convert  them  into  instruction  and  comfort  for  His 
Church.  Thus  Martha's  over-earnestness  in  house- 
hold duties  has  drawn  from  Him  a  sanction  for  a 
life  of  contemplation  and  prayer;! and  so,  in  the 
history  before  us,  the  over-caution  of  St.  Thomas 
has  gained  for  us  His  promise  of  especial  blessing 
on  those  who  believe  without  having  seen.  I  pro- 
ceed to  make  some  remarks  on  the  nature  of  this 
believing  temper,  and  why  it  is  blessed. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  that  what 
our  Saviour  says  to  Thomas  so  clearly  and  impres- 
sively, He  has  implied,  in  one  way  or  other,  all 
through  His  ministry ;  the  blessedness  of  a  mind 
that  believes  readily.  His  demand  and  trial  of 
faith  in  the  case  of  those  who  came  for  His  mira- 
culous aid,  His  praise  of  it  where  found,  His 
sorrow  where  it  was  wanting.  His  warnings  against 
hardness  of  heart ;  all  are  evidence  of  this.  "  Ve- 
rily I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great 
faith,  no  not  in  Israel."  "  Daughter,  be  of  good 
comfort,  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole."  "  Thy 
faith  hath  saved  thee,  go  in  peace."  "  An  evil 
and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign." 
"  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that 


y. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  19 

the  prophets  have  spoken  \"  These  will  remind 
us  of  a  multitude  of  similar  passages  in  especial 
praise  of  faith.  St.  Paul  pursues  the  same  line  of 
doctrine  begun  by  his  Lord.  In  three  Epistles 
he  sets  before  us  the  peculiar  place  it  holds 
among  the  evidences  of  a  religious  mind ;  and 
each  time  refers  to  a  passage  in  the  Prophets, 
in  order  to  show  that  he  was  bringing  in  no  new 
doctrine,  but  only  teaching  that  which  had  been 
promulged  from  the  beginning.  In  consequence, 
in  our  ordinary  language  we  speak  of  religion  being 
built  upon  faith,  not  upon  reason :  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  as  common  for  those  who  scoff  at  religion 
to  object  this  very  doctrine  against  us,  as  if,  in  so 
saying,  we  had  almost  admitted  that  Christianity 
was  not  true.  Let  us  then  consider  how  the  case 
stands. 

Every  religious  mind,  under  every  dispensation 
of  Providence,  will  be  in  the  habit  of  looking  out 
of  and  beyond  self,  as  regards  all  matters  connected 
with  its  highest  good.  For  a  man  of  religious  mind 
is  he  who  attends  to  the  rule  of  conscience,  which 
is  born  with  him,  which  he  did  not  make  for  him- 
self, and  to  which  he  feels  bound  in  duty  to  submit. 
And  conscience  immediately  directs  his  thoughts 
to  some  Being  exterior  to  himself,  who  gave  it, 
and  who  evidently  is  superior  to  him ;  for  a  law 

^  Matt.  viii.  10  ;  ix.  22.  Luke  vii.  50.  Matt.  xii.  39. 
Luke  xxiv.  25. 

c2 


20  ST.  THOMAS.  [Sehm. 

implies   a    lawgiver,    and    a   command   implies   a 
superior.     Thus  a  man  is  at  once  thrown  out  of 
himself,  by  the  very   Voice  which  speaks  within 
him ;  and  while  he  rules  his  heart  and  conduct  by 
his  inward  sense  of  right  and  wrong,   not  by  the 
maxims  of  the  external   world,   yet   that   inward 
sense  does  not  allow  him   to   rest   in   itself,  but 
sends  him  forth  again  from  home  to  seek  abroad 
for  Him  who  has  put  His  Word  in  him.     He  looks 
forth  into  the  world  to  seek  Him  who  is  not  of  the 
world,  to  find  behind  the  shadows  and  deceits  of 
this  shifting  scene  of  time  and  sense,  Him  whose 
Word  is  eternal,  and  whose  Presence  is  spiritual. 
He  looks  out  of  himself  for  that  Living  Word  to 
which  he  may  attribute  what  has   echoed  in  his 
heart ;  and  being  sure  that  it  is  to  be  found  some- 
where,  he   is   predisposed    to   find    it,    and    often 
thinks  he  has  found  it  when  he  has  not.     Hence, 
if  truth  is  not  at  hand,  he  is  apt  to  mistake  error 
for  truth,  to  consider  as  the  presence  and  especial 
work  of  God  what  is  not  so;  and  thinking  any- 
thing preferable  to  scepticism,  he  becomes  (what 
is  sometimes  imputed  to  him  by  way  of  reproach,) 
superstitious.     This,  you  may  suppose,  is  the  state 
of  the  better  sort  of  persons  in  a  heathen  country. 
They  are  not  vouchsafed  the  truer  tokens  of  God's 
power  and  will,  which  we  possess ;  so  they  fancy 
where  they  cannot  find,  and,  having  consciences 
more  acute  than  their  reasoning  powers,  they  per- 
vert  and   misuse  even   those   indications   of  God 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  21 

which  are  provided  for  them  in  nature.  This  is 
one  cause  of  the  false  divinities  of  pagan  worship, 
which  are  tokens  of  guilt  in  the  worshipper,  not 
(as  we  trust)  when  they  could  know  no  better,  but 
when  they  have  turned  from  the  light,  not  liking 
"  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge."  And  if  this 
is  the  course  of  a  religious  mind,  even  when  it  is 
not  blessed  with  the  news  of  divine  truth,  much 
more  will  it  welcome  and  gladly  commit  itself  to 
the  hand  of  God,  when  allowed  to  discern  it  in  the 
Gospel.  Such  is  faith  as  it  exists  in  the  multitude 
of  those  who  believe,  arising  from  their  sense  of  the 
presence  of  God,  originally  certified  to  them  by  the 
inward  voice  of  conscience. 

On  the  other  hand,  such  persons  as  prefer  this 
world  to  the  leadings  of  God's  Spirit  within  them, 
soon  lose  their  perception  of  the  latter,  and  lean 
upon  the  world  as  a  god.  Having  no  presentiment 
of  any  Invisible  Guide,  who  has  a  claim  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  matters  of  conduct,  they  consider  nothing 
to  have  a  substance  but  what  meets  their  senses, 
are  contented  with  this,  and  draw  their  rules  of 
life  from  it.  They  truly  are  in  no  danger  of  being 
superstitious  or  credulous;  for  they  feel  no  ante- 
cedent desire  or  persuasion  that  God  may  have 
made  a  revelation  of  Himself  in  the  world ;  and 
when  they  hear  of  events  supernatural,  they  come 
to  the  examination  of  them  as  calmly  and  dis- 
passionately as  if  they  were  judges  in  a  court  of 
law,  or  inquiring  into  points  of  science.     They  ac- 


22  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm. 

knowledge  no  especial  interest  in  the  question 
proposed  to  them  ;  and  they  find  it  no  efTort  to 
use  their  intellect  upon  it  as  truly,  as  if  it  were 
some  external  instrument  which  could  not  be 
swayed.  Here  then  we  see  two  opposite  characters 
V  of  mind,  the  one  credulous  (as  it  would  be  com- 
monly called,)  the  latter  candid,  well-judging,  and 
sagacious;  and  it  is  clear  that  the  former  of  the 
two  is  the  religious  temper  rather  than  the  latter. 
In  this  way  then,  if  in  no  other,  faith  and  reason 
are  opposed ;  and  to  believe  much  is  more  blessed 
than  to  believe  little. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Every  one  who  tries  to  do 
God's  will,  is  sure  to  find  he  cannot  do  it  perfectly. 
He  will  feel  himself  to  be  full  of  imperfection  and 
sin ;  and  the  more  he  succeeds  in  regulating  his 
heart,  the  more  he  will  discern  its  original  bitter- 
ness and  guilt.  Here  is  an  additional  cause  of  a 
religious  man's  looking  out  of  himself.  He  knows 
the  evil  of  his  nature,  and  forebodes  God's  wrath  as 
its  consequence,  and  when  he  looks  around  him, 
he  sees  it  reflected  from  within  upon  the  face  of 
the  world.  He  fears ;  and,  in  consequence,  seeks 
about  for  some  means  of  propitiating  his  Maker, 
for  some  token,  if  so  be,  of  God's  relenting.  He 
cannot  stay  at  home;  he  cannot  rest  in  himself; 
he  wanders  about  from  very  anxiety ;  he  needs 
some  one  to  speak  peace  to  his  soul.  Should  a 
man  come  to  him  professing  to  be  a  messenger 
from  heaven,  he  is  at  once  arrested  and  listens ; 

1 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  23 

and,  whether  such  profession  be  actually  true  or 
false,  yet  his  first  desire  is  that  it  may  be  true. 
Those,  on  the  contrary,  who  are  without  this  sense 
of  sin,  can  bear  the  first  news  of  God's  having 
spoken  to  man,  without  being  startled.  They  can 
patiently  wait  till  the  body  of  evidence  is  brought 
out  before  them,  and  then  receive  or  reject  as  reason 
may  determine  for  them. 

Further  still,  let  us  suppose  two  persons  of  strong- 
mind,  not  easily  exciteable,  sound  judging  and 
cautious;  and  let  them  be  equally  endowed  in  these 
respects.  Now  there  is  an  additional  reason  why, 
of  these  two,  he  who  is  religious  will  believe  more 
and  reason  less  than  the  irreligious;  that  is,  if  a 
man's  acting  upon  a  message  is  the  measure  of  his 
believing  it,  as  the  common  sense  of  the  world  will 
determine.  For  in  anv  matter  so  momentous  and 
practical  as  the  welfare  of  the  soul,  a  wise  man  will 
not  wait  for  the  fullest  evidence,  before  he  acts ; 
and  will  show  his  caution,  not  in  remaining  unin- 
fluenced by  the  existing  report  of  a  divine  message, 
but  by  obeying  it  though  it  might  be  more  clearly 
attested.  If  it  is  but  slightly  probable  that  rejec- 
tion of  the  Gospel  will  involve  his  eternal  ruin,  it 
is  safest  and  wisest  to  act  as  if  it  were  certain.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  a  man  does  not  make  the 
truth  of  Christianity  a  practical  concern,  but  a  mere 
matter  of  philosophical  or  historical  research,  he 
will  feel  himself  at  leisure,  (and  reasonably  on  his 
own   grounds,)    to   find   fault    with    the  evidence. 


24  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm. 

When  we  inquire  into  a  point  of  history,  or  inves- 
tigate an  opinion  in  science,  we  do  demand  decisive 
evidence ;  we  consider  it  allowable  to  wait  till  we 
obtain  it,  to  remain  undecided,  in  a  word  to  be 
sceptical.  If  religion  be  not  a  practical  matter,  it  is 
right  and  philosophical  in  us  to  be  sceptics.  Assur- 
edly higher  and  fuller  evidence  of  its  truth  might 
be  given  us ;  and,  after  all,  there  are  a  number  of 
deep  questions  concerning  the  laws  of  nature,  the 
constitution  of  the  human  mind,  and  the  like, 
which  must  be  solved  before  we  can  feel  perfectly 
satisfied.  And  those  whose  hearts  are  not  "  tender '," 
as  Scripture  expresses  it,  that  is,  who  have  not  a 
vivid  perception  of  the  Divine  Voice  within  them, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  His  existence  from  whom 
it  issues,  do  not  feel  Christianity  as  a  practical 
matter,  and  let  it  pass  accordingly.  They  are  ac- 
customed to  say  that  death  will  soon  come  upon 
them  and  solve  the  great  secret  for  them  without 
their  trouble,  that  is,  they  wait  for  sight ;  not  under- 
standing, or  being  able  to  be  made  to  comprehend, 
that  their  solving  this  great  problem  without  sight 
is  the  very  end  and  business  of  their  mortal  life ; 
according  to  St.  Paul's  decision  that  faith  is  "  the 
substance,"  or  the  realizing,  "  of  things  hoped 
for,"  "  the  evidence,"  or  the  making  trial  of,  the 
acting  on  the  belief  of  "  things  not  seen  ^."  What 
the  Apostle  says  of  Abraham  is  a  description  of 

'  2  Kings  xxiL  19.  '  Heb.  xi.  1. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  25 

all  true  faith ;  it  goes  out  not  knowing  whither  it 
goes.  It  does  not  crave  or  bargain  to  see  the  end 
of  the  journey ;  it  does  not  argue  with  St.  Thomas, 
in  the  days  of  his  ignorance,  "  we  know  not  whither, 
and  how  can  we  know  the  way  ?"  it  is  persuaded  that 
it  has  quite  enough  light  to  walk  by,  far  more  than 
sinful  man  has  a  right  to  expect,  if  it  sees  one  step  -(- 
in  advance ;  and  it  leaves  all  knowledge  of  the 
country  over  which  it  is  journeying,  to  Him  who 
calls  it  on. 

And  this  blessed  temper  of  mind,  which  influ- 
ences religious  men  in  the  greater  matter  of  choos- 
ing or  rejecting  the  Gospel,  extends  itself  also  into 
their  reception  of  it  in  all  its  parts.  As  faith  is 
content  with  but  a  little  light  to  begin  its  journey 
by,  and  makes  it  much  by  acting  upon  it,  so  also 
it  reads,  as  it  were,  by  twilight,  the  message  of 
truth  in  its  various  details.  It  does  not  stipulate 
that  the  text  of  Scripture  should  admit  of  rigid 
and  laboured  proofs  of  its  doctrines;  it  has  the 
practical  wisdom  to  consider  that  the  word  of  God 
must  have  mainly  one  and  one  only  sense,  and  to 
try,  as  well  as  may  be,  to  find  out  what  that  sense 
is,  whether  the  evidence  of  it  be  great  or  little,  and 
not  to  quarrel  with  it  if  it  is  not  overpowering.  It 
keeps  steadily  in  view  that  Christ  speaks  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  receives  His  words  as  if  it  heat'd  them, 
as  if  some  superior  and  friend  spoke  them,  one 
whom  it  wished  to  please ;  not  as  if  it  were  engaged 
upon  the  dead  letter  of  a  document,  which  admitted 


26  ST.  THOMAS.  [Serm. 

of  rude  handling,  of  criticism  and  exception.  It 
looks  off  from  self  to  Christ ;  and  instead  of  seek- 
ing impatiently  for  some  personal  assurance,  is  set 
on  obedience,  saying,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me."  And 
in  like  manner  towards  every  institution  of  Christ, 
His  Church,  His  Sacraments,  and  His  Ministers,  it 
acts  not  as  a  disputer  of  this  world,  but  as  the 
disciple  of  Him  who  appointed  them.  Lastly,  it 
rests  contented  with  the  revelation  made  it ;  it  has 
"  found  the  Messias,"  and  that  is  enough.  The 
very  principle  of  its  former  restlessness  now  keeps 
it  from  wandering.  When  "  the  Son  of  God  is 
come,  and  hath  given  us  an  understanding  to  know 
the  true  God,"  wavering,  fearfulness,  superstitious 
trust  in  the  creature,  pursuit  of  novelties,  are  signs, 
not  of  faith,  but  of  unbelief '. 

Much  might  be  added  in  conclusion  by  way  of 
applying  what  has  been  said  to  the  temper  of  our 
own  day,  in  which  men  around  us  are  apt  almost 
to  make  it  a  boast  that  "  theirs  is  a  rational  reli- 
gion." Doubtless,  this  happens  to  be  the  case ; 
but  it  is  no  necessary  mark  of  a  true  religion  that 
it  is  rational  in  the  common  sense  of  the  word; 
nor  is  it  any  credit  to  a  man  to  have  resolved  only 
to  take  up  with  what  he  considers  rational.  The 
true  religion  is  partly  altogether  above  reason,  as 
in  its  Mysteries ;  and  so  again,  it  might  have  been 
introduced  into  the  world   without  that  array  of 

'  Vide  Cant.  iii.  1 — 4. 


II.]  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  27 

Evidences,  as  they  are  called,  which  our  reason  is 
able  and  delights  to  draw  out ;  yet  it  would  not  on 
that  account  have  been  less  true.      As  far  as  it  is 
above  reason,  as  far  as  it  has  extended  into  any 
countries  without  sufficient  proof  of  its  divinity,  so 
far  it  cannot  be  called  rational.     Indeed,  that  it  is 
at   all  level   to  the  reason,  is  rather  a  privilege 
granted  by  Almighty  God,  than  a  point  which  may 
be  insisted  on  by  man ;  and  unless  received  as  an 
unmerited  boon,  may  become  hurtful  to  us.     If  this 
remark  be  in  any  measure  true,  we  know  what  to 
think  of  arguing  against  the  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel on  the  ground  of  their  being  irrational,  or  of 
attempting  to  refute  the  creed  of  others  by  ridi- 
culing articles  of  it  as  unaccountable  and  absurd, 
or  of  thinking  that  the  superstitious  have  advanced 
a  step  towards  the  truth  when  they  have  plunged 
into  infidelity,  or  of  accounting  it  wrong  to  educate 
children  in  the  Catholic  faith,  lest  they  should  not 
have  the   opportunity  of  choosing  for  themselves 
in  mature  years.     Dismissing  such  thoughts  from 
the  mind,  let  us  rather  be  content  vdth  the  words 
of  the  Apostle.     "  The  preaching  of  the  cross,"  he 
says,  "  is  to  them  that  perish  foolishness ;  but  unto 
us  which  are  saved  it  is  the  power  of  God.     For  it 
is  written,  I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise, 
and  will  bring  to  nought  the  understanding  of  the 
prudent.     Where  is  the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  ? 
where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world?     Hath  not 
God    made   foolish    the    wisdom    of    this    world  ? 


28  FAITH  WITHOUT  SIGHT.  [Serm.  II. 

For  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God,  by 
the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to  save  them  that 
believe  ^" 

»  1  Cor.  i.  18—21. 


SERMON    III. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  OUR  LORD. 
THE  INCARNATION. 


John  i.  14. 
The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us. 

Thus  does  the  favoured  Apostle  and  Evangelist 
announce  to  us  that  Sacred  Mystery,  which  we 
this  day  especially  commemorate,  the  incarnation 
of  the  Eternal  Word.  Thus  briefly  and  simply 
does  he  speak,  as  if  fearing  he  should  fail  in 
fitting  reverence.  If  any  there  was  who  might 
seem  to  have  permission  to  indulge  in  words  on 
this  subject,  it  was  the  beloved  disciple,  who  had 
heard,  and  seen,  and  looked  upon,  and  handled 
the  Word  of  Life ;  yet,  in  proportion  to  the  height 
of  his  privilege,  was  his  discernment  of  the  infinite 
distance  between  him  and  his  Creator.  Such  too 
was  the  temper  of  the  Holy  Angels,  when  the 
Father  "  brought  in  the  First-begotten  into  the 
world* :"  they  straightway  worshipped  Him.     And 

'  Heb.  i.  6. 


30  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Serm. 

such  was  the  feeling  of  awe  and  love  mingled 
together,  which  remained  for  a  while  in  the  Church 
after  Angels  had  announced  His  coming,  and  Evan- 
gelists had  recorded  His  sojourn  here  and  His 
departure ;  "  there  was  silence  as  it  were  for  half 
an  hour  \"  Around  the  Church,  indeed,  the  voices 
of  blasphemy  were  heard,  even  as  when  He  hung 
on  the  cross ;  but  in  the  Church  there  was  light 
and  peace,  fear,  joy,  and  holy  meditation.  Lawless 
doubtings,  importunate  enquirings,  confident  rea- 
sonings were  not.  An  heartfelt  adoration,  a  prac- 
tical devotion  to  the  Ever-blessed  Son,  precluded 
difficulties  in  faith,  and  sheltered  the  Church  from 
the  necessity  of  speaking. 

He  who  had  seen  the  Lord  Jesus  with  a  pure 
mind,  attending  Him  from  the  lake  of  Gennesa- 
reth  to  Calvary,  and  from  the  Sepulchre  to  Mount 
Olivet,  where  He  left  this  scene  of  His  humilia- 
tion ;  he  who  had  been  put  in  charge  with  His 
Virgin  Mother,  and  heard  from  her  what  she  alone 
could  tell  of  the  Mystery  to  which  she  had  minis- 
tered ;  and  they  who  had  heard  it  from  his  mouth, 
and  those  again  whom  these  have  taught,  the  first 
generations  of  the  Church  needed  no  explicit  de- 
clarations concerning  His  Sacred  Person.  Sight 
and  hearing  superseded  the  multitude  of  words ; 
faith  dispensed  with  the  aid  of  lengthened  Creeds 
and  Confessions.     There  was  silence.      "  The  Word 

'   Rev.  viii.  1. 


HI]  THE  INCARNATION.  81 

was  made  flesh ;"  "  I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  His 
only  Son  our  Lord ;"  sentences  such  as  these  con- 
veyed every  thing,  yet  were  officious  in  nothing. 
But  when  the  light  of  His  advent  faded,  and  love 
waxed  cold,  then  there  was  an  opening  for  objec- 
tion and  discussion,  and  a  difficulty  in  answering. 
Then  misconceptions  had  to  be  explained,  doubts 
allayed,  questions  set  at  rest,  innovators  silenced. 
Christians  were  forced  to  speak  against  their  will, 
lest  heretics  should  speak  instead  of  them. 

Such  is  the  difference  between  our  own  state 
and  that  of  the  early  Church,  which  the  present 
Festival  especially  brings  to  mind.  In  the  New 
Testament  we  find  the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation 
announced,  clearly  indeed,  but  with  a  reverent 
brevity.  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh."  "God 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh."  "  God  was  in  Christ." 
"  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  the  mighty  God." 
"  Christ,  over  all,  God,  blessed  for  ever."  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God."  "  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
beginning  and  the  ending,  the  Almighty."  "  The 
Son  of  God,  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the 
express  image  of  His  Person  \"  But  we  are 
obliged  to  speak  more  at  length  in  the  Creeds 
and  in  our  teaching,  to  meet  the  perverse  ingenuity 
of  those  who,  when  the  Apostles  were  removed, 
could  with  impunity  insult  and  misinterpret  the 
letter  of  their  writings. 

'   1  Tim.  Hi.  16,     2   Cor.  v.  19.     Isai.  ix.  6.     Rom.  ix.  .5. 
John  XX,  28.     Rev.  i.  8.     Heb.  i.  2,  3. 


S2  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Serm. 

Nay,  further,  so  circumstanced  are  we,  as  to  be 
obliged  not  only  thus  to  guard  the  Truth,  but  even 
to  give  the  reason  of  our  guarding  it.  For  they 
who  would  steal  away  the  Lord  from  us,  not  con- 
tent with  forcing  us  to  measures  of  protection, 
even  go  on  to  bring  us  to  account  for  adopting 
them ;  and  demand  that  we  should  put  aside 
whatever  stands  between  them  and  their  heretical 
purposes.  Therefore  it  is  necessary  to  state  clearly, 
as  I  have  already  done,  why  the  Church  has 
lengthened  her  statements  of  Christian  doctrine. 
Another  reason  of  these  statements  is  as  follows  : 
time  having  proceeded,  and  the  true  traditions  of 
our  Lord's  ministry  being  lost  to  us,  the  Object  of 
our  faith  is  but  faintly  reflected  on  our  minds, 
compared  with  the  vivid  picture  which  His  pre- 
sence impressed  upon  the  early  Christians.  True 
is  it  the  Gospels  will  do  very  much  by  way  of 
realizing  for  us  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
if  studied  in  faith  and  love.  But  the  Creeds  are 
an  additional  help  this  way.  The  declarations 
made  in  them,  the  distinctions,  cautions,  and  the 
like,  supported  and  illuminated  by  Scripture,  draw 
down,  as  it  were,  from  heaven,  the  image  of  Him 
who  is  on  God's  right  hand,  preserve  us  from 
an  indolent  use  of  words  without  apprehending 
them,  and  rouse  in  us  those  mingled  feelings  of 
fear  and  confidence,  affection  and  devotion  towards 
Him,  which  are  implied  in  the  belief  of  a  per- 
sonal advent   of  God  in    our   nature,  and  which 


III.]  THE  INCARNATION,  33 

were  originally  derived  to  the  Church  from   the 
very  sight  of  Him. 

And  we  may  say  further  still,  these  statements, 
such,  for  instance,  as  occur  in  the  Te  Deum  and 
Athanasian  Creed,  are  especially  suitable  in  divine 
worship,  inasmuch  as  they  kindle  and  elevate  the 
religious  affections.  They  are  hymns  of  praise 
and  thanksgiving;  they  give  glory  to  God  as  re- 
vealed in  the  Gospel,  just  as  David's  Psalms  magnify 
His  Attributes  as  displayed  in  nature,  His  won- 
derful works  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  His 
mercies  towards  the  house  of  Israel. 

With  these  objects,  then,  it  may  be  useful,  on 
to-day's  Festival,  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation. 

The  Word  was  from  the  beginning,  the  Only  be- 
gotten Son  of  God.  Before  all  worlds  were  created, 
while  as  yet  time  was  not.  He  was  in  existence,  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Eternal  Father,  God  from  God,  and 
Light  from  Light,  supremely  blessed  in  knowing 
and  being  known  of  Him,'  and  receiving  all  divine 
perfections  from  Him,  yet  ever  One  with  Him  who 
begat  Him.  As  it  is  said  in  the  opening  of  the 
Gospel ;  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God." 
If  we  may  dare  conjecture,  He  is  called  the  Word 
of  God,  as  mediating  between  the  Father  and  all 
creatures;  bringing  them  into  being,  fashioning 
them,  giving  the  world  its  laws,  imparting  reason 
and  conscience  to  creatures  of  a  higher  order,  and 

VOL.  II.  D 


34  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Serm. 

revealing  to  them  in  due  season  the  knowledge  of 
God's  will.  And  to  us  Christians  He  is  especially 
the  Word  in  that  great  Mystery  commemorated 
to-day,  whereby  He  became  flesh,  and  redeemed 
us  from  a  world  of  sin. 

He,  indeed,  when  man  fell,  might  have  remained 
in  the  glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father  before 
the  world  was.  But  that  unsearchable  Love,  which 
showed  itself  in  our  original  creation,  rested  not 
content  with  a  frustrated  work,  but  brought  Him 
down  again  from  His  Father's  bosom  to  do  His  will, 
and  repair  the  evil  which  sin  had  caused.  And  with 
a  wonderful  condescension  He  came,  not  as  before 
in  power,  but  in  weakness,  in  the  form  of  a  servant, 
in  the  likeness  of  that  fallen  creature  whom  He 
purposed  to  restore.  So  He  humbled  Himself; 
suffering  all  the  infirmities  of  our  nature  in  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  all  but  a  sinner, — pure  from 
all  sin,  yet  subjected  to  all  temptation, — and  at 
length  becoming  obedient  unto  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross. 

I  have  said  that  when  the  Only-begotten  Son 
stooped  to  take  upon  Him  our  nature.  He  had  no 
fellowship  with  sin.  It  was  impossible  that  He 
should.  Therefore,  since  our  nature  was  corrupt 
since  Adam's  fall.  He  did  not  come  in  the  way  of 
nature,  He  did  not  clothe  Himself  in  that  corrupt 
flesh  which  Adam's  race  inherits.  He  came  by 
miracle,  so  as  to  take  on  Him  our  imperfection 
without  having  any  share  in  our  sinfulness.     He 


HI]  THE  INCARNATION.  35 

was  not  born  as  other  men  are ;  for  "  that  which 
is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh  \" 

All  Adam's  children  are  children  of  wrath ;  so 
our  Lord  came  as  the  Son  of  Man,  but  not  the 
son  of  sinful  Adam.  He  had  no  earthly  father; 
He  abhorred  to  have  one.  The  thought  may  not 
be  suffered  that  He  should  have  been  the  son  of 
shame  and  guilt.  He  came  by  a  new  and  living 
way;  not,  indeed,  formed  out  of  the  ground,  as 
Adam  was  at  the  first,  lest  He  should  miss  the  par- 
ticipation of  our  nature,  but  selecting  and  purifying 
unto  Himself  a  tabernacle  out  of  that  which  existed. 
As  in  the  beginning,  woman  was  formed  out  of  man 
by  Almighty  power,  so  now,  by  a  like  mystery,  but 
a  reverse  order,  the  new  Adam  was  fashioned  from 
the  woman.  He  was,  as  had  been  foretold,  the  im- 
maculate "  seed  of  the  woman,"  deriving  His  man- 
hood from  the  substance  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  as  it  is 
expressed  in  the  articles  of  the  Creed, — "  conceived 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary." 

Thus  the  Son  of  God  became  the  Son  of  Man ; 
mortal,  but  not  a  sinner  ;  heir  of  our  infirmities,  not 
of  our  guiltiness ;  the  offspring  of  the  old  race,  yet 
"  the  beginning  of  the"  new  "  creation  of  God." 
Mary,  His  mother,  was  a  sinner  as  others,  and  born 
of  sinners ;  but  she  was  set  apart,  "  as  a  garden 
inclosed,  a  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain  sealed,"  to 
yield  a  created  nature  to  Him  who  was  her  Creator. 

'  John  Hi.  6. 
D  2 


36  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Sekm. 

Thus  He  came  into  this  world,  not  in  tlie  clouds 
of  heaven,  but  born  into  it,  born  of  a  woman; 
He,  the  Son  of  Mary,  and  she  (if  it  may  be  said), 
the  Mother  of  God.  Thus  He  came,  selecting 
and  setting  apart  for  Himself  the  elements  of  body 
and  soul ;  then,  uniting  them  to  Himself  from  their 
first  origin  of  existence,  pervading  them,  hallowing 
them  by  His  own  Divinity,  spiritualizing  them, 
and  filling  them  with  light  and  purity,  the  while 
they  continued  to  be  human,  and  for  a  time  mortal 
and  exposed  to  infirmity.  And,  as  they  grew  from 
day  to  day  in  their  holy  union.  His  Eternal  Essence 
still  was  one  with  them,  exalting  them,  acting  in 
them,  manifesting  Itself  through  them,  so  that  He 
was  truly  God  and  Man,  One  Person, — as  we  are 
soul  and  body,  yet  one  man,  so  truly  God  and  man 
are  not  two,  but  One  Christ.  Thus  did  the  Son  of 
God  enter  this  mortal  world ;  and  when  He  had 
reached  man's  estate,  He  began  His  ministry, 
preached  the  Gospel,  chose  His  Apostles,  suffered 
on  the  cross,  died,  and  was  buried,  rose  again  and 
ascended  on  high,  theres  to  reign  till  the  day  when 
He  comes  again  to  judge  the  world.  This  is  the 
All-gracious  Mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  good  to 
look  into,  good  to  adore ;  according  to  the  saying  in 
the  text, — "  the  Word  was  made  flesh, — and  dwelt 
among  us." 

The  brief  account  thus  given  of  the   Catholic 
doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Eternal  Word, 


Ill  ]  THE  INCARNATION.  37 

may  be  made  more  distinct  by  referring  to  some  of 
those  modes  mentioned  in  Scriptm-e,  in  which  God 
has  at  divers  times  condescended  to  manifest  Him- 
self in  His  creatures,  which  come  short  of  it. 

1,  God  was  in  the  Prophets,  but  not  as  He  was 
in  Christ.  The  divine  authority,  and  in  one  sense, 
name,  may  be  given  to  His  Ministers,  considered  as 
His  representatives.  Moses  says  to  the  Israelites, 
"  Your  murmurings  are  not  against  us,  but  against 
the  Lord."  And  St.  Paul,  "  He 'therefore  that 
despiseth,  despiseth  not  man,  but  God  \"  In  this 
sense.  Rulers  and  Judges  are  sometimes  called  gods, 
as  our  liord  Himself  says. 

And  further,  the  Prophets  were  inspired.  Thus 
John  the  Baptist  is  said  to  have  been  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  from  his  mother's  womb.  Zacharias  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  prophesied.  In  like 
manner  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  the  Apostles  at 
Pentecost  and  at  other  times ;  and  so  wonderfully 
gifted  was  St.  Paul,  that  "  from  his  body  were 
brought  unto  the  sick  handkerchiefs  or  aprons,  and 
the  diseases  departed  from  them,  and  the  evil 
spirits  went  out  of  them  ^"  Now  the  characteristic 
of  this  miraculous  inspiration  was,  that  the  presence 
of  God  came  and  went.  Thus  we  read  in  the  afore- 
mentioned and  similar  narratives,  of  the  Prophet  or 
Apostle  being ///erf  with  the  Spirit  on  a  particular 

'  Exod.  xvi.  8.      I  Thes.  iv.  8.  '  Acts  xix.  12. 

V 


38  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Serm. 

occasion ;  as  again  of  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  de- 
parting from  Saul,"  and  an  evil  spirit  troubling  him. 
Thus  this  divine  inspiration  w^as  so  far  parallel  to 
demonical  possession.     We  find  in  the  Gospels  the 
devil  speaking  vrith  the  voice  of  his  victim,  so  that 
the  tormentor  and  the  tormented  could  not  be  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other.     They  seemed  to  be 
one  and  the  same,  though  they  were  not ;  as  ap- 
peared when   Christ   and  His    Apostles   cast   the 
devil  out.     And  so  again  the  Jewish  Temple  was  in 
one  sense  inhabited  by  the  presence  of  God,  which 
came  down  upon  it  at  Solomon's  prayer.     This  was 
a  type  of  our   Lord's   manhood  dwelt  in    by  the 
Word  of  God  as  a  Temple  ;  still  with  this  essential 
difference,  that  the  Jewish  Temple  was  perishable, 
and  again  the  Divine  Presence  might  recede  from 
it.     There  was  no  real  unity  between  the  one  and 
the  other :  they  were  separable.     But   Christ  says 
to   the   Jews   of  His    own    body,    "  Destroy   this 
Temple  and  1  will  raise  it  in  three  days ;"  implying 
in  these  words,  such  an  unity  between  the  God- 
head and  the  manhood,  that  there  could  be  no  real 
separation,  no  dissolution.     Even  when  His  body 
was   dead,    the  Divine    Nature  was  one  with  it; 
in  like  manner  it  was  one  with  His  soul  in  paradise. 
Soul  and  body  were  really  one  with  the  Eternal 
Word, — not  one  in  name  only, — one  never  to  be 
divided.     Therefore  Scripture   says  that  He   rose 
again   "  according   to  the   Spirit  of  holiness ;  and 


III.]  THE  INCARNATION.  39 

"  that  it  was  not  possible  that  He  should  be  liolden 
of  death '." 

2.  Again,  the  Gospel  teaches  us  another  mode 
in  which  man  may  be  said  to  be  united  with  Al- 
mighty God.  It  is  the  peculiar  blessedness  of  the 
Christian,  as  St.  Peter  tells  us,  to  be  "  partaker  of 
the  Divine  Nature  ^"  We  believe,  and  have  joy 
in  believing,  that  the  grace  of  Christ  renews  our 
carnal  souls,  repairing  the  effects  of  Adam's  fall. 
Where  Adam  brought  in  impurity  and  unbelief^ 
the  power  of  God  infuses  faith  and  holiness.  Thus 
we  have  God's  perfections  communicated  to  us 
anew,  and,  as  being  under  immediate  heavenly 
influences,  are  said  to  be  one  with  God.  And 
further,  we  are  assured  of  some  real  though  mystical 
fellowship  with  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
in  order  to  this :  so  that  both  by  a  real  presence 
in  the  soul,  and  by  the  fruits  of  grace,  God  is  one 
with  every  believer,  as  in  a  consecrated  Temple. 
But  still,  inexpressible  as  is  this  gift  of  Divine 
Mercy,  it  were  blasphemy  not  to  say  that  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Father  in  the  Son  is  infinitely  above 
this,  being  quite  different  in  kind ;  for  He  is  not 
merely  of  a  divine  nature,  divine  by  participation  of 
holiness  and  perfection,  but  Life  and  Holiness  itself, 
such  as  the  Father  is,— the  Co-eternal  Son  incarnate, 
God  clothed  with  our  nature,  the  Word  made  flesh. 

3.  And  lastly,  we  read  in  the  Patriarchal  History 

'  Rom.  i.  4.     Acts  ii.  24.  =■  2  Pet.  i.  4. 


40  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Serm. 

of  various  appearances  of  Angels  so  remarkable 
that  we  can  scarcely  hesitate  to  suppose  them  to  be 
gracious  visions  of  the  Eternal  Son.  For  instance ; 
it  is  said  that  "  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
unto"  Moses  "  in  a  flame  of  fire  out  of  the  midst  of 
a  bush ;"  yet  presently  this  supernatural  Presence 
is  called  "the  Lord,"  and  afterwards  reveals  His 
name  to  Moses,  as  "  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob."  On  the  other  hand  St.  Stephen 
speaks  of  Him  as  "  the  Angel  which  appeared  to 
Moses  in  the  bush."  Again,  he  says  soon  after, 
that  Moses  was  "  in  the  Church  in  the  wilderness 
with  the  Angel  which  spake  to  him  in  the  mount 
Sina  ;"  yet  in  the  book  of  Exodus  we  read,  "  Moses 
went  up  unto  God,  and  the  Lord  called  unto  him 
out  of  the  mountain  ;"  "  God  spake  all  these  words 
saying  ' ;"  and  the  like.  Now,  assuming,  as  we 
seem  to  have  reason  to  assume,  that  the  Son  of 
God  is  Jierein  revealed  to  us,  as  graciously  minis- 
tering to  the  Patriarchs,  Moses,  and  others,  in  an- 
gelic form,  the  question  arises,  what  was  the  nature 
of  this  appearance  ?  We  are  not  informed,  nor  may 
we  venture  to  determine ;  still,  any  how,  the  Angel 
was  but  the  temporary  outward  form  which  the 
Eternal  Word  assumed,  whether  it  was  of  a  mate- 
rial nature,  or  a  vision.  Whether  or  no  it  was 
really  an  Angel,  or  but  an  appearance  existing 
only  for  the  immediate  purpose  ;  yet,  any  how,  M^e 

'  Exod.  iii.  2.     Acts  vii.  35 — 38.       Exod.  xix.  3.  xx.  !• 


III.]  THE  INCARNATION.  41 

could  not  with  propriety  say  that  our  Lord  "  took 
upon  Him  the  nature  of  Angels." 

Now  these  instances  of  the  indwelling  of  Al- 
mighty God  in  a  created  substance,  which  I  have 
given  by  way  of  contrast  to  that  infinitely  higher 
and  mysterious  union  which  is  called  the  Incarna- 
tion, actually  supply  the  senses  in  which  heretics  at 
various  times  have  perverted  our  holy  and  comfort- 
able doctrine,  and  which  have  obliged  us  to  have 
recourse  to  Creeds  and  Confessions.     Rejecting  the 
teaching  of  the  Church,  and  dealing  rudely  with 
the  Word  of  God,  they  have  ventured  to  deny  that 
**  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,"  pretending  He  '  ^i^i.,^^fj^, 
merely  showed  Himself  as  a  vision  or  phantom  ; — or  k  ,^^ci.a 
they  have  said  that  the  Son  of  God  merely  dwelt 
in  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  as  the  Shechinah  in  the 
Temple,  having  no  real  union  with  the  Son  of  Mary 
(as  if  there  were  two  distinct  Beings,  the  Word       nXcus^ 
and  Jesus,  even  as  the  Blessed  Spirit  is  distinct 
from   a   man's  soul) ; — or  that  Christ  was   called 
God  for  His  great  spiritual  perfections,  and  that 
He  gradually  attained  them  by  long  practice.     All 
these  are  words  not  to  be  uttered,  except  to  show 
what  the  true  doctrine  is,  and  what  is  the  meaninsf 
of  the  language  of  the  Church  concerning  it.     For 
instance,  the  Athanasian  Creed  confesses  that  Christ 
is  "  God  of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  begotten 
before   the  worlds,    perfect  God,"  lest  we  should 
consider  His  Divine  Nature,  like  ours,  as  merely  a 
nature  resembling  God's  holiness  ;^  that  He  is  "  Man 


42  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Skrm. 

of  the  substance  of  His  Mother,  born  in  the  world, 
perfect  man,"  lest  we  should  think  of  Him  as  "  not 
come  in  the  flesh,"  a  mere  Angelic  vision;  and 
that  "  although  He  be  God  and  man,  yet  He  is  not 
two,  but  One  Christ,"  lest  we  should  fancy  that  the 
Word  of  God  entered  into  Him  and  then  departed, 
as  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Prophets. 

Such  are  the  terms  in  which  we  are  constrained 
to  speak  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  by  the  craftiness 
of  His  enemies  and  our  own  infirmity ;  and  we  in- 
treat  His  leave  to  do  so.     We  intreat  His  leave, 
not  as  if  forgetting  that  a  reverent  silence  is  best 
on  so  sacred  a  subject ;  but,  when  evil  men  and 
seducers  abound  on  every  side,  and  our  own  ap- 
prehensions of  the  Truth  are  dull,  using  zealous 
David's   argument,    "  Is   there    not   a   cause"   for 
words  ?     We  intreat    His   leave,   and  we   humbly 
pray  that  what  was  first  our  defence  against  pride 
and  indolence  may  become  an  outlet  of  devotion, 
a  service  of  worship.     Nay,  we  surely  trust  that  He 
will  accept  mercifully  what  we  offer  in  faith,  "  doing 
what  we  can ;"  though  the  ointment  of  spikenard 
which  we  pour  out  is  nothing  to  that  true  Divine 
Glory  which  manifested  itself  in  Him,  when  the 
Holy  Ghost  singled  Him  out  from  other  men,  and 
the  Father's  voice  acknowledged  Him  as  His  dearly 
beloved  Son.     Surely  He  will  mercifully  accept  it, 
if  faith  offers  what  the  intellect  provides ;  if  love 
kindles    the    sacrifice,   zeal  fans  it,   and  reverence 
guards   it.     He  will  illuminate  our  earthly  words 
1 


Ill  ]  THE  INCARNATION.  43 

from  His  own  Divine  Holiness,  till  they  become 
saving  truths  to  the  souls  w^hich  trust  in  Him. 
He  vrho  turned  water  into  wine,  and  (did  He  so 
choose)  could  make  bread  of  the  hard  stone,  will 
sustain  us  for  a  brief  season  on  this  mortal  fare. 
And  we  the  while  receiving  it,  will  never  so  forget 
its  imperfection,  as  not  to  look  out  constantly  for 
the  True  Beatific  Vision;  never  so  perversely  re- 
member it,  as  to  reject  what  is  necessary  for  our 
present  need.  The  time  will  come,  if  we  be  found 
worthy,  when  we,  who  now  see  in  a  glass  darkly, 
shall  see  our  Lord  and  Saviour  face  to  face ;  shall 
behold  His  countenance  beaming  with  the  fulness 
of  Divine  Perfections,  and  bearing  its  own  witness 
that  He  is  the  Son  of  God.  We  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is. 

Let  us  then,  according  to  the  light  given  us, 
praise  and  bless  Him  in  the  Church  below,  whom 
Angels  in  heaven  see  and  adore.  Let  us  bless 
Him  for  His  surpassing  loving-kindness  in  taking 
upon  Him  our  infirmities  to  redeem  us,  when  He 
dwelt  in  the  innermost  love  of  the  Everlasting- 
Father,  in  the  glory  which  He  had  with  Him  before 
the  world  was.  He  came  in  lowliness  and  want; 
born  amid  the  tumults  of  a  mixed  and  busy  multi- 
tude, cast  aside  into  the  outhouse  of  a  crowded 
inn,  laid  to  His  first  rest  among  the  brute  cattle. 
He  grew  up,  as  if  the  native  of  a  despised  city,  and 
was  bred  to  a  humble  craft.  He  bore  to  live  in  a 
world  that  slighted  Him,  for  He  lived  in  it,  in  order 


44  CHRISTMAS  DAY.  [Sehm. 

in  due  time  to  die  for  it.  He  came,  as  the  ap- 
pointed Priest,  to  offer  sacrifice  for  those  who  took 
no  part  in  the  act  of  worship ;  He  came  to  offer  up 
for  sinners  that  precious  blood  which  was  meritorious 
by  virtue  of  His  Divine  Anointing.  He  died,  to 
rise  again  the  third  day,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
fully  displaying  that  splendour  which  had  hitherto 
been  concealed  by  the  morning  clouds.  He  rose 
again,  to  ascend  to  the  right  hand  of  God,  there  to 
plead  His  sacred  wounds  in  token  of  our  forgiveness, 
to  rule  and  guide  His  ransomed  people,  and  from 
His  pierced  side  to  pour  forth  His  choicest  blessings 
upon  them.  He  ascended,  thence  to  descend  again 
in  due  season  to  judge  the  world  which  He  has 
redeemed. — Great  is  our  Lord,  and  great  is  His 
power,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man. 
Ten  thousand  times  more  dazzling  bright  than  the 
highest  Archangel,  is  our  Lord  and  Christ.  By 
birth  the  Only-begotten  and  Express  Image  of 
God ;  and  in  taking  our  flesh,  not  sullied  thereby, 
but  raising  human  nature  with  Him,  as  He  rose 
from  the  lowly  manger  to  the  right  hand  of  power, — 
raising  human  nature,  for  Man  has  redeemed  us, 
Man  is  set  above  all  creatures,  as  one  with  the 
Creator,  Man  shall  judge  man  at  the  last  day.  So 
honored  is  this  earth,  that  no  stranger  shall  judge 
us,  but  He  who  is  our  fellow,  who  will  sustain  our 
interests,  and  has  full  sympathy  in  all  our  imper- 
fections. He  who  loved  us,  even  to  die  for  us,  is 
graciously  appointed  to  assign  the  final  measure- 


Ill]  THE  INCARNATION.  45 

ment  and  price  upon  His  own  work.  He  who  best 
knows  by  infirmity  to  take  the  part  of  the  infirm, 
He  who  would  fain  reap  the  full  fruit  of  His  passion. 
He  will  separate  the  wheat  from  the  chaflf,  so  that 
not  a  grain  shall  fall  to  the  ground.  He  who  has 
given  us  to  share  His  own  spiritual  nature,  He 
from  whom  we  have  dravm  the  life's  blood  of  our 
souls.  He  our  brother  will  decide  about  His  brethren. 
In  that  His  second  coming,  may  He  in  His  grace 
and  loving  pity  remember  us,  who  is  our  only  hope, 
our  only  salvation  !       ol  a-s 


SERMON  IV. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  STEPHEN,  THE  MARTYR. 
MARTYRDOM. 


Heb.  xi.  37. 


They  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were 
slain  with  the  sword. 

St.  Stephen,  who  was  one  of  the  seven  Deacons, 
is  called  the  Protomartyr,  as  having  first  suffered 
death  in  the  cause  of  the  Gospel.  Let  me  take 
the  opportunity  of  his  festival  to  make  some  re- 
marks upon  martyrdom  generally. 

The  word  Martyr  properly  means  "  a  witness," 
but  is  used  to  denote  exclusively  one  who  has  suf- 
fered death  for  the  Christian  faith.  Those  who 
have  witnessed  for  Christ  without  suffering  death, 
are  called  Confessors;  a  title  which  the  early 
Martyrs  often  made  their  own,  before  their  last 
solemn  confession  unto  death,  or  Martyrdom.  Our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  and  most  glorious 
of    Martyrs,    as    having   "  before    Pontius    Pilate 


Serm.  IV. ]  MARTYRDOM.  47 

witnessed  a  good  confession  ' ;"  but  we  do  not  call 
Him  a  Martyr,  as  being  much  more  than  a  Martyr. 
True  it  is,  He  died  for  the  Truth  ;  but  that  was  not 
the  chief  purpose  of  His  death.  He  died  to  save 
us  sinners  from  the  wrath  of  God.  He  was  not 
only  a  Martyr ;  He  was  an  Atoning  Sacrifice. 

He  is  the  supreme  object  of  our  love,  gratitude, 
and  reverence.  Next  to  Him  we  honor  the  noble 
army  of  Martyrs ;  not  indeed  comparing  them  with 
Him,  "  who  is  above  all,  God  blessed  for  ever,"  or 
as  if  they  in  suffering  had  any  part  in  the  work  of 
reconciliation,  but  because  they  have  approached 
most  closely  to  His  pattern  of  all  His  servants. 
They  have  shed  their  blood  for  the  Church,  fulfilling 
the  text,  "  He  laid  down  His  life  for  us,  and  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren^." 
They  have  followed  His  steps,  and  claim  our  grate- 
ful remembrance.  Had  St.  Stephen  shrunk  from 
the  trial  put  upon  him,  and  recanted  to  save  his  life, 
no  one  can  estimate  the  consequences  of  such  a 
defection.  Perhaps  (humanly  speaking)  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel  would  have  been  lost ;  the  Church 
might  have  perished ;  and,  though  Christ  had  died 
for  the  world,  the  world  might  not  have  received 
the  knowledge  or  the  benefits  of  His  death.  The 
channels  of  grace  might  have  been  destroyed,  the 
Sacraments  withdrawn  from  the  feeble  and  corrupt 
race  which  has  such  need  of  them. 

'  1  Tim.  vi.  13.  M  John  iii.  16. 


48  ST.  STEPHEN.  [Serm. 

Now  it  may  be  said,  that  many  men  suffer  pain, 
as  great  as  Martyrdom,  from  disease,  and  in  other 
ways  :  again,  that  it  does  not  follow  that  those  who 
happened  to  be  martyred  were  always  the  most 
useful  and  active  defenders  of  the  faith  ;  and  there- 
fore, that  in  honoring  the  Martyrs,  we  are  honoring 
with  especial  honor  those  to  whom  indeed  we  may 
be  peculiarly  indebted,  (as  in  the  case  of  Apostles,) 
but  nevertheless  who  may  have  been  but  ordinary 
men,  who  happened  to  stand  in  the  most  exposed 
place,  in  the  way  of  persecution,  and  were  slain 
as  if  by  chance,  because  the  sword  met  them  first. 
But  this,  it  is  plain,  would  be  a  strange  way  of 
reasoning  in  any  parallel  case.  We  are  grateful 
to  those  who  have  done  us  favours,  rather  than  to 
those  who  might  or  would,  if  it  had  so  happened. 
We  have  no  concern  with  the  question,  whether 
the  Martyrs  were  the  best  of  men  or  not,  or  whe- 
ther others  would  have  been  Martyrs  too,  had  it 
been  allowed  them.  We  are  grateful  to  those  who 
were  such,  from  the  plain  matter  of  fact  that  they 
were  such,  that  they  did  go  through  much  suffer- 
ing, in  order  that  the  world  might  gain  an  inesti- 
mable benefit,  the  light  of  the  Gospel. 

But  in  truth,  if  we  could  view  the  matter  con- 
siderately, we  shall  find  that,  (as  far  as  human 
judgment  can  decide  on  such  a  point,)  the  Martyrs 
of  the  primitive  times  were,  as  such,  men  of  a 
very  elevated  faith ;  not  only  our  benefactors,  but 
far  our  superiors.     The  utmost  to  which  any  such 


IV.]  MARTYRDOM.  49 

objection  as  that  I  have  stated,  goes,  is  this;  to 
show  that  others  who  were  not  martyred,  might  be 
equal  to  them,  (St.  Philip  the  Deacon,  for  instance, 
equal  to  his  associate  St.  Stephen,)  not  that  those 
who  were  martyred  were  not  men  eminently  gifted 
with  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  For  let  us  consider  what 
it  was  then  to  be  a  Martyr. 

First,  it  was  to  be  a  voluntary  sufferer.     Men, 
perhaps,  suffer  in  various  diseases  more  than  the 
Martyrs   did,   but   they   cannot   help   themselves. 
Again,  it  has  frequently  happened  that  men  have 
been  persecuted  for  their  religion  without  having 
expected  it,  or  being  able  to  avert  it.     These  in 
one  sense  indeed  are  Martyrs;  and  we  naturally 
think  affectionately  of  those  who  have  suffered  in 
our  cause,  whether  voluntarily  or  not.  But  this  was 
not  the  case  with  the   primitive  martyrs.     They 
knew  beforehand  clearly  enough  the  consequences 
of  preaching  the  gospel ;  they  had  frequent  warn- 
ings brought  home  to  them  of  the  sufferings   in 
store  for  them,  if  they  persevered  in  their  labours 
of  brotherly  love.     Their    Lord   and   Master  had 
suffered  before  them ;  and,  besides  suffering  Him- 
self,   had   expressly  foretold  their  sufferings ;    "  If 
they  have  persecuted  Me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you  '." ,  They  were  repeatedly  warned  and  strictly 
charged  by  the  chief  priests  and   rulers,  not   to 
preach  in   Christ's   name.     They   had   experience 

'  John  XV.  20. 
VOL.  II.  E  ^  *-  - 


50  ST.  STEPHEN.  [Skrm. 

of  lesser  punishments  from  their  adversaries  in 
earnest  of  the  greater;  and  at  length  they  saw  their 
brethren,  one  by  one,  slain  for  persevering  in  their 
faithfulness  to  Christ.  Yet  they  continued  to  keep 
the  faith,  though  they  might  be  victims  of  their 
obedience  any  day. 

All  this  must  be  considered  when  we  speak  of 
their  sufferings.  They  lived  under  a  continual 
trial,  a  daily  exercise  of  faith,  which  we,  living 
in  peaceable  times,  can  scarcely  understand.  Christ 
had  said  to  His  Apostles,  "  Satan  hath  desired 
to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat  \" 
Consider  what  is  meant  by  sifting,  which  is  a 
continued  agitation,  a  shaking  about  to  separate 
the  mass  of  com  into  two  parts.  Such  was  the 
early  discipline  inflicted  on  the  Church.  No  mere 
sudden  stroke  came  upon  it ;  but  it  was  solicited 
day  by  day,  in  all  its  members,  by  every  argument 
of  hope  and  fear,  by  threats  and  inducements, 
to  desert  Christ.  This  was  the  lot  of  the  Martyrs. 
Death,  their  final  suffering,  was  but  the  consumma- 
tion of  a  life  of  anticipated  death.  Consider  how 
distressing  anxiety  is  ;  how  irritating  and  wearing 
it  is  to  be  in  constant  excitement,  with  the  duty  of 
maintaining  calmness  and  steadiness  in  the  midst 
of  it ;  and  how  especially  inviting  any  prospect  of 
tranquillity  would  appear  in  such  circumstances ; 
and  then  we  shall  have  some  notion  of  a  Christian's 

^  Luke  xxii.  31. 


IV.]  MARTYRDOM.  51 

condition,  under  a  persecuting  heathen  government. 
I  put  aside  for  the  present  the  peculiar  reproach 
and  contempt  which  was  the  lot  of  the  primitive 
Church,  and  their  actual  privations.     Let  us  merely 
consider  them  as  harassed,  shaken  as  wheat  in  a 
sieve.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  stoutest  hearts  ' 
are  in  danger  of  failing.  They  could  steel  themselves 
against  certain  definite  sufferings,  or  prepare  them- 
selves to  meet  one  expected  crisis ;  but  they  yield  \ 
to  the  incessant  annoyance  which  the  apprehension  ; 
of  persecution,  and  the  importunity  of  friends  in- 
flict on  them.     They  sigh  for  peace ;  they  gradually 
come  to  believe  that  the  world  is  not  so  wrong  as 
some  men  say  it  is,  and  that  it  is  possible  to  be 
over-strict  and  over-nice.     They  learn  to  temporize 
and  be  double-minded.  First  one  falls,  then  another; 
and  such  instances  come  as  an  additional  argument 
for  concession  to  those  that  remain  firm  as  yet, 
who  of  course  feel  disspirited,  lonely,  and  begin  to  , 
doubt  the  correctness  of  their  own  judgment ;  while  | 
on  the  other  hand,  those  who  have  fallen  in  self- ,' 
defence  become  their  tempters.     Thus  the  Church ' 
is  sifted,  the  cowardly  falling  off,  the  faithful  con- 
tinuing firm,  though  in  dejection  and  perplexity. 
Among  these  latter  are  the  Martyrs  ;  not  accidental 
victims,    taken   at   random,    but   the   picked   and 
choice   ones,  the   elect   remnant,   a   sacrifice  well 
pleasing  to  God,  because  a  costly  gift,  the  finest 
wheat  flour  of  the  Church :  men  who  have  been 
warned  what  to  expect  from  their  profession,  and 
E  2 


52  ST.  STEPHEN.  [Serm. 

have  had  many  opportunities  of  relinquishing  it,  but 
have  "  borne  and  had  patience,  and  for  Christ's 
name  sake  have  laboured  and  have  not  fainted  \" 
Such  was  St.  Stephen,  not  entrapped  into  a  con- 
fession and  slain  (as  it  were)  in  ambuscade,  but 
boldly  confronting  his  persecutors,  and,  in  spite  of 
circumstances  that  foreboded  death,  awaiting  their 
fury.  And  if  Martyrdom  in  early  times  was  not 
the  chance  and  unexpected  death  of  those  who  hap- 
pened to  profess  the  Christian  faith,  much  less  is  it 
to  be  compared  to  the  sufferings  of  disease,  be  they 
greater  or  not.  No  one  is  maintaining  that  the 
mere  undergoing  pain  is  a  great  thing.  A  man 
cannot  help  himself  when  in  pain ;  he  cannot  escape 
from  it,  be  he  as  desirous  to  do  so  as  he  may.  Tlie 
devils  bear  pain,  against  their  will.  But  to  be  a 
Martyr,  is  to  feel  the  storm  coming,  and  willingly 
to  endure  it  at  the  call  of  duty,  for  Christ's  sake,  and 
for  the  good  of  the  brethren ;  and  this  is  a  kind  of 
r  firmness  which  we  have  no  means  of  displaying  at 
the  present  day,  though  our  deficiency  in  it  may  be, 
and  is  continually  evidenced,  as  often  as  we  yield 
(which  is  not  seldom)  to  inferior  and  ordinary 
temptations. 

2.  But,  in  the  next  place,  the  suffering  itself  of 
Martyrdom  was  in  some  respects  peculiar.  It  was 
a  death,  cruel  in  itself,  publicly  inflicted :  and 
heightened  by  the  fierce  exultation  of  a  malevolent 


IV.]  MARTYRDOM.  53 

populace.  When  we  are  in  pain,  we  can  lie  in  peace 
by  ourselves.  We  receive  the  sympathy  and  kind 
services  of  those  about  us ;  and  if  we  like  it,  we 
can  retire  altogether  from  the  sight  of  others,  and 
suffer  without  a  witness  to  interrupt  us.  But  the 
sufferings  of  Martyrdom  were  for  the  most  part 
public,  attended  with  every  circumstance  of  igno- 
miny and  popular  triumph,  as  well  as  with  torture. 
Criminals  indeed  are  put  to  death  without  kindly 
thoughts  from  bystanders  ;  still,  for  the  most  part, 
even  criminals  receive  commiseration  and  a  sort  of 
respect.  But  the  early  Christians  had  to  endure 
"the  shame"  after  their  Master's  pattern.  They  had 
to  die  in  the  midst  of  enemies  who  reviled  them, 
and  in  mockery,  bid  them  (as  in  Christ's  case)  come 
down  from  the  cross.  They  were  supported  on  no 
easy  couch,  soothed  by  no  attentive  friends;  and 
considering  how  much  the  depressing  power  of 
pain  depends  on  the  imagination,  this  circumstance 
alone  at  once  separates  their  sufferings  widely  from 
all  instances  of  pain  in  disease.  The  unseen  God 
alone  was  their  Comforter,  and  this  invests  the  scene 
of  their  suffering  with  supernatural  majesty,  and 
awes  us  when  we  think  of  them.  "  Yea,  though  I 
walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I 
will  fear  no  evil ;  for  Thou  art  with  me  '."  A  Mar- 
tyrdom is  a  season  of  God's  especial  power  in  the 
eye  of  faith,  as  gi-eat  as  if  a  miracle  were  visibly 

'  Psalm  xxiii.  4. 


54  ST.  STEPHEN.  [Sehm. 

wrought.  It  is  a  fellowship  of  Christ's  sufferings, 
a  commemoration  of  His  death,  a  representation 
filling  up  in  figure,  "  that  which  is  behind  of  His 
afflictions,  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is  the 
Church  ^"  And  thus,  being  an  august  solemnity  in 
itself,  and  a  kind  of  Sacrament,  a  baptism  of  blood, 
it  worthily  finishes  that  long  searching  trial  which  I 
have  already  described  as  being  its  usual  forerunner 
in  primitive  times. 

I  have  spoken  only  of  the  early  Martyrs,  because 
this  Festival  leads  me  to  do  so ;  and,  besides,  be- 
cause, though  there  have  been  Martyrs  among  us 
since,  yet,  from  the  time  that  Kings  have  become 
nursing  fathers  to  the  Church,  the  history  of  Con- 
fessors and  Martyrs  is  so  implicated  with  state 
affairs,  that  their  conduct  is  not  so  easily  separable 
hy  us  from  the  world  around  them,  nor  are  we  given 
to  know  them  so  clearly :  though  this  difficulty  of 
discerning  them  should  invest  their  memory  with 
peculiar  interest  when  we  do  discern  them,  and  their 
connection  with  civil  matters,  far  from  diminishing 
the  high  spiritual  excellence  of  such  true  sons  of 
the  Church,  in  some  respects  even  increases  it. 

To  conclude. — It  is  useful  to  reflect  on  subjects 
such  as  that  I  have  now  laid  before  you,  in  order 
to  humble  ourselves.  "  We  have  not  resisted  unto 
blood,  striving  against  sin  ^"  What  are  our  petty 
sufferings  which  we  make  so  much  of,  to  their  pains 

»  Col.  i.  24.  '  Heb.  xii.  4. 


IV.]  MARTYRDOM.  55 

and  sorrows,  who  lost  their  friends,  and  then  their 
own  lives  for  Christ's  sake ;  who  were  assaulted  by 
all  kind  of  temptations,  the  sophistry  of  Antichrist, 
the  blandishments  of  the  world,  the  terrors  of  the 
sword,  the  weariness  of  suspense,  and  yet  fainted  not? 
How  far  above  ours  are  both  their  afflictions,  and  their 
consolations  under  them  !     Now,  I  know  that  such 
reflections  are  at  once,  and  with  far  deeper  reason, 
raised  by  the  thought  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
himself;  but  commonly.  His  transcendent  holiness  / 
and  depth  of  woe  do  not  immediately  affect  us,  from 
the  very  greatness  of  them.    We  sum  them  up  in  a 
few  words,  and  speak  without  understanding.  On  the  i 
other  hand  we  rise  somewhat  towards  the  comprehen- 1 
sion  of  them,  when  we  make  use  of  that  heavenly/ 
ladder  by  which  His  Saints  have  made  their  way 
towards  Him.    By  contemplating  the  lowest  of  His 
true  servants,  and  seeing  how  far  any  one  of  them  • 
surpasses  ourselves,  we  learn  to  shrink  before  His 
ineffable  purity,  who  is  infinitely  holier  than  the 
holiest  of  His  creatures ;  and  to  confess  ourselves 
with  a  sincere  mind  to  be  unworthy  of  the  least  of 
all  His  mercies.  Thus  His  Martyrs  lead  us  to  Him- 
self, the  chief  of  Martyrs  and  the  king  of  Saints. 

May  God  give  us  grace  to  receive  these  thoughts 
into  our  hearts,  and  to  display  the  fruit  of  them  in 
our  conduct !  What  are  we  but  sinful  dust  and 
ashes,  grovellers  who  are  creeping  on  to  Heaven, 
not  with  any  noble  sacrifice  for  Christ's  cause,  but 
without   pain,    without   trouble,    in    the  midst  of 

2 


56  ST.  STEPHEN.  [Serm.  IV 

worldly  blessings  !  Well ; — but  He  can  save  in  the 
humblest  paths  of  life,  and  in  the  most  tranquil 
times.  There  is  enough  for  us  to  do,  far  more  than 
we  fulfil,  in  our  own  ordinary  course.  Let  us  strive 
to  be  more  humble,  faithful,  merciful,  meek,  self- 
denying  than  we  are.  Let  us  "  crucify  the  flesh 
with  the  affections  and  lusts '."  This,  to  be  sure,  is 
sorry  Martyrdom ;  yet  God  accepts  it  for  His  Son's 
sake.  Notwithstanding,  after  all,  if  we  get  to 
Heaven,  surely  we  shall  be  the  lowest  of  the  Saints 
there  assembled ;  and,  if  all  are  unprofitable  ser- 
vants, we  verily  shall  be  the  most  unprofitable  of 

nil 

'  »  Gal.  V.  24. 

/'  ,        ,^         ft 


UAcJ^^AUl^r 


t;  . 


SERMON  V. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST, 
LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS. 


1  John  iv.  7. 
Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  is  of  God. 

St.  John  the  Apostle  and  Evangelist  is  chiefly  and 
most  familiarly  known  to  us  as  "  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved."  He  was  one  of  the  three  or  four  who 
always  attended  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  had  the  pri- 
vilege of  the  most  intimate  intercourse  with  Him ; 
and,  more  favoured  than  Peter,  James,  and  An- 
drew, he  was  His  bosom  friend,  as  we  commonly 
express  ourselves.  At  the  solemn  supper  before 
Christ  suffered,  he  took  his  place  next  Him,  and 
leaned  on  His  breast.  As  the  other  three  commu- 
nicated between  the  multitude  and  Christ,  so  St. 
John  communicated  between  Christ  and  them.  At 
the  Last  Supper,  Peter  dared  not  ask  Jesus  a  ques- 
tion himself,  but  bade  John  put  it  to  Him,  who  it 
was  that  should  betray  Him.  Thus  St.  John  was 
the  private  and  intimate  friend  of  Christ.  Again, 
it  was  to  St.  John  that  our  Lord  committed  His 


58  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST.  [Serm. 

Mother,  when  He  was  dying  on  the  cross;  it 
was  to  St.  John  that  He  revealed  in  vision  after 
His  departure  the  fortunes  of  His  Church. 

Much  might  be  said  on  this  remarkable  circum- 
stance. I  say  remarkable,  because  it  might  be 
supposed  that  the  Son  of  God  Most  High  could  not 
have  loved  one  man  more  than  another ;  or  again, 
if  so,  that  He  would  not  have  had  only  one  friend, 
but,  as  being  All-holy,  He  would  have  loved  all 
men  more  or  less,  in  proportion  to  their  holiness. 
Yet  we  find  our  Saviour  had  a  private  friend ;  and 
this  shows  us,  first  how  entirely  He  was  a  man,  as 
much  as  any  of  us,  in  His  w^ants  and  feelings  ;  and 
next  that  there  is  nothing  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel,  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  fulness  of 
Christian  love,  in  having  our  affections  directed  in 
an  especial  way  towards  certain  objects,  towards  those 
whom  the  circumstances  of  our  past  life,  or  some 
peculiarities  of  character,  have  endeared  to  us. 

There  have  been  men  before  now  who  have  sup- 
posed Christian  love  was  so  diffusive  as  not  to 
admit  of  concentration  upon  individuals;  so  that 
we  ought  to  love  all  men  equally.  And  many 
there  are,  who  without  bringing  forward  any 
theory,  yet  consider  practically  that  the  love  of 
many  is  something  superior  to  the  love  of  one  or 
two;  and  neglect  the  charities  of  private  life, 
while  busy  in  the  schemes  of  an  expansive  bene- 
volence, or  of  affecting  a  general  union  and  con- 
ciliation   among    Christians.       Now   I   shall    here 


v.]  LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS.  59 

maintain,  in  opposition  to  such  notions  of  Christian 
love,  and  with  our  Saviour's  pattern  before  me, 
that  the  best  preparation  for  loving  the  world  at 
large,  and  loving  it  duly  and  wisely,  is  to  cultivate 
an  intimate  friendship  and  aifection  towards  those 
who  are  immediately  about  us. 

It  has  been  the  plan  of  Divine  Providence  to 
ground  what  is  good  and  true  in  religion  and 
morals,  on  the  basis  of  our  good  natural  feelings. 
What  we  are  towards  our  earthly  friends  in  the 
instincts  and  wishes  of  our  infancy,  such  we  are  to 
become  at  length  towards  God  and  man  in  the 
extended  field  of  our  duties  as  accountable  beings. 
To  honour  our  parents  is  the  first  step  towards 
honoring  God ;  to  love  our  brethren  according  to 
the  flesh,  the  first  step  towards  considering  all  men 
our  brethren.  Hence  our  Lord  says,  we  must 
become  as  little  children,  if  we  would  be  saved; 
we  must  become  in  His  Church,  as  men,  what  we 
were  once  in  the  small  circle  of  our  youthful 
homes.  —  Consider  how  many  other  virtues  are 
grafted  upon  natural  feelings.  What  is  Christian 
high-mindedness,  generous  self-denial,  contempt 
of  wealth,  endurance  of  suffering,  and  earnest 
striving  after  perfection,  but  an  improvement  and 
transformation,  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  of  that  natural  character  of  mind  which  we 
call  romantic?  On  the  other  hand,  what  is  the 
instinctive  hatred  and  abomination  of  sin,  (which 
confirmed  Christians  possess,)  their  dissatisfaction 


60  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST.  [Serm. 

with  themselves,  their  general  refinement,  discri- 
mination, and  caution,  but  an  improvement,  under 
the  same  Spirit,  of  their  natural  sensitiveness  and 
delicacy,  fear  of  pain,  and  sense  of  shame?  They 
have  been  chastised  into  self-government,  by  a  fitting 
discipline,  and  now  associate  an  acute  sense  of  dis- 
comfort and  annoyance  with  the  notion  of  sinning. 
And  so  of  the  love  of  our  fellow  Christians  and  of 
the  world  at  large,  it  is  the  love  of  kindred  and 
friends  in  a  fresh  shape ;  which  has  this  use,  if  it 
had  no  other,  that  it  is  the  natural  branch  on  which 
a  spiritual  fruit  is  grafted. 

But  again,  the  love  of  our  private  friends  is  the 
only  preparatory  exercise  for  the  love  of  others. 
The  love  of  God  is  not  the  same  thing  as  the  love 
of  our  parents,  though  parallel  to  it ;  but  the  love 
of  mankind  in  general  should  be  in  the  main  the 
same  habit  as  the  love  of  our  friends,  only  exer- 
cised towards  different  objects.  The  great  diffi- 
culty in  our  religious  duties  is  their  extent.  This 
frightens  and  perplexes  men, — naturally ;  those 
especially,  who  have  neglected  religion  for  a  while, 
and  on  whom  its  obligations  disclose  themselves 
all  at  once.  This,  for  example,  is  the  great  misery 
of  leaving  repentance  till  a  man  is  in  weakness  or 
sickness;  he  does  not  know  how  to  set  about  it. 
Now  God's  merciful  Providence  has  in  the  natural 
course  of  things  narrowed  for  us  at  first  this  large 
field  of  duty ;  He  has  given  us  a  clue.  We  are  to 
begin  with  loving  our  friends  about  us,  and  gra- 


v.]  LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS.  61 

dually  to  enlarge  the  circle  of  our  affections,  till  it 
reaches  all  Christians,  and  then  all  men.  Besides, 
it  is  obviously  impossible  to  love  all  men  in  any 
strict  and  true  sense.  What  is  meant  by  loving 
all  men,  is,  to  feel  well-disposed  towards  all  men, 
to  be  ready  to  assist  them,  and  to  act  towards  those 
who  come  in  our  way,  as  if  we  loved  them.  We 
cannot  love  those  about  whom  we  know  nothing ; 
except  indeed  we  view  them  in  Christ,  as  the  objects 
of  His  Atonement,  that  is,  rather  in  faith  than  in 
love.  And  love,  besides,  is  a  habit,  and  cannot  be 
attained  without  actual  practice^  which  on  so  large 
a  scale  is  impossible.  We  see  then  how  absurd  it  is, 
when  writers,  (as  is  the  manner  of  some  who  slight 
the  Gopel,)  talk  magnificently  about  loving  the 
whole  human  race  with  a  comprehensive  affection, 
of  being  the  friends  of  all  mankind,  and  the  like. 
Such  vaunting  professions,  what  do  they  come  to  ? 
that  such  men  have  certain  benevolent  feelings,  to- 
wards the  world, — feelings  and  nothing  more  ; — no- 
thing more  than  unstable  feelings,  the  mere  offspring 
of  an  indulged  imagination,  which  exist  only  when 
their  minds  are  wrought  upon,  and  are  sure  to 
fail  them  in  the  hour  of  need.  This  is  not  to  love 
men,  it  is  but  to  talk  about  love. — The  real  love  of 
man  must  depend  on  practice,  and  therefore,  must 
begin  by  exercising  itself  on  our  friends  around  us, 
otherwise  it  will  have  no  existence.  By  trying  to 
love  our  relations  and  friends,  by  submitting  to  j 
their  wishes,  though  contrary  to  our  own,  by  bear- 


62  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST.  [Serm. 

ing    with  their    infirmities,    by  overcoming    their 
occasional  waywardness  by  kindness,  by  dwelling 
on  their  excellences,  and  trying  to  copy  them,  thus 
it  is  that  we  form  in  our  hearts  that  root  of  charity, 
which,  though  small  at  first,  may,  like  the  mustard 
seed,  at  last  even  overshadow  the  earth.     The  vain 
talkers  about  philanthropy,  just  spoken  of,  usually 
show  the  emptiness  of  their  profession,   by  being 
morose  and  cruel  in  the  private  relations  of  life, 
which  they  seem  to  account  as  subjects  beneath 
their  notice.     Far  different   indeed,  far  different, 
(unless  it  be  a  sort  of  irreverence  to  contrast  such 
dreamers  with  the  great  Apostle,  whose  memory 
we  are  to-day  celebrating,)  utterly  the  reverse  of 
this   fictitious   benevolence   was   his  elevated  and 
enlightened  sympathy  for  all  men.     We  know  he 
is  celebrated  for   his  declarations  about  Christian 
love.     "  Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love 
is  of  God.     If  we  love  one  another,  God  dwelleth 
in  us,  and  His  love  is   perfected  in  us.     God  is 
love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God, 
and  God  in  him  \"     Now  did  he  begin  with  some 
vast  effort  at  loving  on  a  large  scale?     Nay,  he 
had  the  unspeakable  privilege  of  being  the  friend 
of  Christ.      Thus  he    was  taught  to  love  others ; 
first  his  affection    was   concentrated,  then  it  was 
expanded.      Next   he  had  the  solemn   and   com- 
fortable charge  of  tending  our  Lord's  Mother,  the 

»   I  John  iv.  7.  12.  16. 


v.]  LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS.  63 

Blessed  Virgin,  after  His  departure.  Do  we  not 
here  discern  the  secret  sources  of  his  especial  love 
of  the  brethren  ?  Could  he,  who  first  was  favored 
with  his  Saviour's  affection,  then  trusted  with  a 
son's  office  towards  His  Mother,  could  he  be  other 
than  a  memorial  and  pattern  (as  far  as  man  can 
be,)  of  love,  deep,  contemplative,  fervent,  unruffled, 
unbounded  ? 

Further,  that  love  of  friends  and  relations,  which 
nature  prescribes,  is  also  of  use  to  the  Christian, 
in  giving  form  and  direction  to  his  love  of  man- 
kind at  large,  and  making  it  intelligent  and  discri- 
minating. A  man,  who  would  fain  begin  by  a  gene- 
ral love  of  all  men,  necessarily  puts  them  all  on  a 
level,  and,  instead  of  being  cautious,  prudent,  and 
S3nnpathizing  in  his  benevolence,  is  hasty  and 
rude ;  does  harm,  perhaps,  when  he  means  to  do 
good,  discourages  the  virtuous  and  well-meaning, 
and  wounds  the  feelings  of  the  gentle.  Men  of 
ambitious  and  ardent  minds,  for  example,  desirous 
of  doing  good  on  a  large  scale,  are  especially 
exposed  to  the  temptation  of  sacrificing  individual 
to  general  good  in  their  plans  of  charity.  Ill- 
instructed  men,  who  have  strong  abstract  notions 
about  the  necessity  of  showing  generosity  and 
candour  towards  opponents,  often  forget  to  take 
any  thought  of  those  who  are  associated  with 
themselves ;  and  commence  their  (so  called)  liberal 
treatment  of  their  enemies  by  an  unkind  desertion 
of  their  friends.  This  can  hardly  be  the  case, 
when    men   cultivate   the   private    charities,  as  an 


64  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST.  [Serm. 

introduction  to  more  enlarged  ones.  By  laying  a 
foundation  of  social  amiableness,  we  insensibly 
learn  to  observe  a  due  harmony  and  order  in  our 
charity ;  we  learn  that  all  men  are  not  on  a  level ; 
that  the  interests  of  truth  and  holiness  must  be  re- 
ligiously observed ;  and  that  the  Church  has  claims 
on  us  before  the  world.  We  can  easily  afford  to 
be  liberal  on  a  large  scale,  when  we  have  no  affec- 
tions to  stand  in  the  way.  Those  who  have  not 
accustomed  themselves  to  love  their  neighbours 
whom  they  have  seen,  will  have  nothing  to  lose  or 
gain,  nothing  to  grieve  at  or  rejoice  in,  in  their 
larger  plans  of  benevolence.  They  will  take  no 
interest  in  them  for  their  own  sake;  rather,  they 
will  engage  in  them,  because  expedience  demands, 
or  credit  is  gained,  or  an  excuse  found  for  being 
busy.  Hence  too  we  discern  how  it  is,  that  private 
virtue  is  the  only  sure  foundation  of  public  virtue ; 
and  that  no  national  good  is  to  be  expected,  (though 
it  may  now  and  then  accrue,)  from  men  who  have 
not  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes. 

I  have  hitherto  considered  the  cultivation  of 
domestic  affections  as  the  source  of  more  extended 
Christian  love.  Did  time  permit,  I  might  now  go 
on  to  show,  besides,  that  they  involve  a  real  and 
difficult  exercise  of  it.  Nothing  is  more  likely  to 
engender  selfish  habits,  (which  is  the  direct  oppo- 
site and  negation  of  charity,)  than  independence  in 
our  worldly  circumstances.  Men  who  have  no  tie 
on  them,  who  have  no  calls  on  their  daily  sympathy 
and  tenderness,  who  have  no  one's  comfort  to  con- 


v.]  LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS.  65 

suit,  who  can  move  about  as  they  please,  and  in- 
dulge the  love  of  variety  and  the  restless  humours 
which  are  so  congenial  to  the  minds  of  most  men, 
are  very  unfavourably  situated  for  obtaining  that 
heavenly  gift,  which  is  described  in  our  Liturgy,  as 
being  "  the  very  bond  of  peace  and  of  all  virtues." 
On  the  other  hand  I  cannot  fancy  any  state  of  life 
more  favourable  for  the  exercise  of  high  Christian 
principle,  and  the  matured  and  refined  Christian 
spirit,  (that  is,  where  the  parties  really  seek  to  do 
their  duty,)  than  that  of  persons  who  differ  in  tastes 
and  general  character,  being  obliged  by  circum- 
stances to  live  together,  and  mutually  to  accommo- 
date to  each  other  their  respective  wishes  and 
pursuits. — And  this  is  one  among  the  many  pro- 
vidential benefits  (to  those  who  will  receive  them) 
arising  out  of  the  Holy  Estate  of  Matrimony ;  which 
not  only  calls  out  the  tenderest  and  gentlest  feel- 
ings of  our  nature,  but,  where  persons  do  their 
duty,  must  be  in  various  ways  more  or  less  a  state 
of  self-denial. 

Or,  again,  I  might  go  on  to  consider  the  private 
charities,  which  have  been  my  subject,  not  only  as 
the  sources  and  as  the  discipline  of  Christian  love, 
but  further  as  the  perfection  of  it ;  which  they  are 
in  some  cases.  The  Ancients  thought  so  much  of 
friendship,  that  they  made  it  a  virttie.  In  a  christian 
view,  it  is  not  quite  this  ;  but  it  is  often  accidentally 
a  special  test  of  our  virtue.  For  consider : — let  us 
say  that  this  man,  and  that,  not  bound  by  any  very 

VOL.  n.  F 


66  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST.  [Serm. 

necessary  tie,  find  their  greatest  pleasure  in  living 
together ;  say,  that  this  continues  for  years,  and  that 
they  love  each  other's  society  the  more,  the  longer 
they  enjoy  it.  Now  observe  what  is  implied  in  this. 
Young  people,  indeed,  readily  love  each  other,  for 
they  are  cheerful  and  innocent ;  more  easily  yield 
to  each  other,  and  are  full  of  hope  ; — types,  as  Christ 
says,  of  His  true  converts.  But  this  happiness  does 
not  last ;  their  tastes  change.  Again,  grown  persons 
go  on  for  years  as  friends;  but  these  do  not  live 
together;  and,  if  any  accident  throws  them  into 
familiarity  for  a  while,  they  find  it  difficult  to  restrain 
their  tempers  and  keep  on  terms,  and  discover  that 
they  are  best  friends  at  a  distance.  But  what  is  it 
that  can  bind  two  friends  together  in  intimate  con- 
verse for  a  course  of  years,  but  the  participation  in 
something  that  is  Unchangeable  and  essentially 
Good,  and  what  is  this  but  religion?  Religious 
tastes  alone  are  unalterable.  The  Saints  of  God 
continue  in  one  way,  while  the  fashions  of  the  world 
change;  and  a  faithful,  indestructible  friendship 
may  thus  be  a  test  of  the  parties  so  loving  each 
other,  having  the  love  of  God  seated  deep  in  their 
hearts.  Not  an  infallible  test  certainly ;  for  they 
may  have  dispositions  remarkably  the  same,  or  some 
ingrossing  object  of  this  world,  literary  or  other; 
they  may  be  removed  from  the  temptation  to 
change,  or  they  may  have  a  natural  sobriety  of 
temper  which  remains  contented  wherever  it  finds 
itself     However,  under  certain  circumstances,  it  is 


v.]  LOVE  OF  RELATIONS  AND  FRIENDS.  67 

a  lively  token  of  the  presence  of  divine  grace  in 
them  ;  and  it  is  always  a  sort  of  symbol  of  it,  for 
there  is  at  first  sight  something  of  the  nature  of 
virtue  in  the  very  notion  of  constancy,  dislike  of 
change  being  not  only  the  characteristic  of  a  virtuous 
mind,  but  in  some  sense  a  virtue  itself. 

And  now  I  have  suggested  to  you  a  subject  of 
thought  for  to-day's  Festival, — and  surely  a  very 
practical  subject,  when  we  consider  how  large  a 
portion  of  our  duties  lies  at  home.  Should  God 
call  upon  us  to  preach  to  the  world,  surely  we  must 
obey  His  call ;  but  at  present,  let  us  do  what  lies 
before  us.  Little  children,  let  us  love  one  another. 
Let  us  be  meek  and  gentle ;  let  us  think  before  we 
speak  ;  let  us  try  to  improve  our  talents  in  private 
life ;  let  us  do  good,  not  hoping  for  a  return,  and 
avoiding  all  display  before  men.  Well  may  I  so 
exhort  you  at  this  season,  when  we  have  so  lately 
partaken  together  the  Blessed  Sacrament  which 
binds  us  to  mutual  love,  and  gives  us  strength  to 
practise  it.  Let  us  not  forget  the  promise  we  then 
made,  or  the  grace  we  then  received.  We  are  not 
our  own  ;  we  are  bought  with  the  blood  of  Christ ; 
we  are  consecrated  to  be  temples  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
an  unutterable  privilege,  which  is  weighty  enough  to 
sink  us  with  shame  at  our  own  unworthiness,  did  it 
not  the  while  strengthen  us  by  the  aid  itself  imparts, 
to  bear  its  extreme  costliness.  May  we  live  worthy 
of  our  calling,  and  realize  in  our  own  persons  the 
Church's  prayers  and  professions  for  us ! 


SERMON    VL 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  HOLY  INNOCENTS. 
THE  MIND  OF  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 


Matt,  xviii.  3. 

Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall 
not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

The  longer  we  live  in  the  world,  and  the  further 
removed  we  are  from  the  feelino^s  and  remem- 
brances  of  childhood,  (and  especially  if  removed 
from  the  sight  of  children,)  the  more  reason  we 
have  to  recollect  our  Lord's  impressive  action  and 
word,  when  He  called  a  little  child  unto  Him,  and 
set  him  in  the  midst  of  His  disciples,  and  said, 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  be  converted, 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  Whosoever,  there- 
fore, shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the 
same  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  And 
in  order  to  remind  us  of  this  our  Saviour's  judg- 
ment, the  Church,  like  a  careful  teacher,  calls  us 
back  year  by  year  upon  this  day  from  the  bustle 
and  fever  of  the  world.  She  takes  advantage  of 
the    Massacre  of  the    Innocents   recorded   in   St. 


Serm.  VI.]     THE  MIND  OF  LIITLE  CHILDREN.  69 

Matthew's  gospel,  to  bring  before  us  a  truth  which  [ 
else  we  might  think  little  of;  to  sober  our  wishes  and 
hopes  of  this  world,  our  high  ambitious  thoughts, 
or  our  anxious  fears,  jealousies  and  pares,  by  the 
picture  of  the  purity,  peace,  and  contentment  which 
are  the  characteristics  of  little  children. 

And,  independently  of  the  benefit  thus  accruing 
to  us,  it  is  surely  right  and  meet  thus  to  celebrate 
the  death  of  the  Holy  Innocents ;  for  it  was  a  blessed 
one.     To  be  brought  near  to  Christ,  and  to  suffer 
for  Christ,  is  surely  an  unspeakable  privilege;  to 
suffer  any  how,  even  unconsciously.    The  little  chil- 
dren whom  He  took  up  in  His  arms,  were  not  con- 
scious of  His  loving  condescension ;  but  was  it  no 
privilege  when  He  blessed  them  ?    Surely  this  mas- 
sacre had  in  it  the  nature  of  a  Sacrament ;  it  w  as  a 
pledge  of  the  love  of  the  Son  of  God  towards  those 
who  were  encompassed  by  it.     All  who  came  near 
Him,  more  or  less  suffered  by  approaching  Him,  just 
as  if  earthly  pain  and  trouble  went  out  of  Him,  as 
some  precious  virtue  for  the  good  of  their  souls  ; — 
and  these  infants  in  the  number.     Surely  His  very 
presence  was  a  Sacrament ;  every  motion,  look,  and 
word  of  His  conveying  grace  to  those  who  would 
receive  it :  and  much  more  w  as  fellowship  with  Him. 
And  hence  in  ancient  times  such  barbarous  murders 
or  Martyrdoms  were  considered  as  a  kind  of  baptism, 
a  baptism  of  blood,  with  a  sacramental  charm  in  it 
which  stood  in  the  place  of  the  appointed  Laver  of 
regeneration.  Let  us  then  take  these  little  children 


70  HOLY  INNOCENTS.  [Serm. 

as  in  some  sense  Martyrs,  and  see  what  instruction 
we  may  gain  from  the  pattern  of  their  innocence. 
,    ^  There   is   very  great  danger   of  our   becoming 

yi  u\Oc  cold-hearted,  as  life  goes  on :  afflictions  which  hap- 
pen to  us,  cares,  disappointments,  all  tend  to  blunt 
our  affections  and  make  our  feelings  callous.  That 
necessary  self-discipline,  too,  which  St.  Paul  enjoins 
Timothy  to  practise,  tends  the  same  way.  And, 
again,  the  pursuit  of  wealth  especially ;  and  much 
more,  if  men  so  far  openly  transgress  the  word  of 
Almighty  God,  as  to  yield  to  the  temptations  of 
sensuality.  The  glutton  and  the  drunkard  bru- 
talize their  minds,  as  is  evident.  And  then  further, 
we  are  often  smit  with  a  notion  of  our  having  be- 
come greater  and  more  considerable  persons  than 
we  were.  If  we  are  prosperous,  for  instance,  in 
worldly  matters,  if  we  rise  in  the  scale  of  (what  is 
called)  society,  if  we  gain  a  name,  if  we  change  our 
state  by  marriage,  or  in  any  other  way  so  as  to  create 
a  secret  envy  in  the  minds  of  our  companions,  in  all 
these  cases  we  shall  be  exposed  to  the  temptation  of 
pride.  The  deference  paid  to  wealth  or  talent  com- 
monly makes  the  possessor  artificial,  and  difficult  to 
reach ;  glossing  over  his  mind  with  a  spurious  refine- 
ment, which  deadens  feeling  and  heartiness.  Now, 
after  all,  there  is  in  most  men's  minds  a  secret  in- 
stinct of  reverence  and  affection  towards  the  days  of 
their  childhood.  They  cannot  help  sighing  with  regret 
and  tenderness  when  they  think  of  it ;  and  it  is 
graciously  done  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  to  avail 

1 


VI.]  THE  MIND  OF  LI'H'LE  CHILDREN.  71 

Himself  (so  to  say)  of  this  principle  of  our  nature, 
and,  as  He  employs  all  that  belongs  to  it,  so  to  turn 
this  also  to  the  real  health  of  the  soul.  And  it  is 
dutifully  done  on  the  part  of  the  Church  to  follow 
the  intimation  given  her  by  her  Redeemer,  and  to 
hallow  one  day  every  year,  as  if  for  the  contempla- 
tion of  His  word  and  deed. 

If  we  wish  to  affect  a  person,  and  (if  so  be) 
humble  him,  what  can  we  do  better  than  appeal  to 
the  memory  of  times  past,  and  above  all  to  his 
childhood  ?  Then  it  was  that  he  came  out  of  the 
hands  of  God,  with  all  lessons  and  thoughts  of 
Heaven  freshly  marked  upon  him.  Who  can  tell 
how  God  makes  the  soul,  or  how  He  new-makes  it  ? 
We  know  not.  We  know  that,  besides  His  part 
in  the  work,  it  comes  into  the  world  with  the  taint 
of  sin  upon  it ;  and  that  even  regeneration,  which 
removes  the  curse,  does  not  extirpate  the  root  of 
evil.  Whether  it  is  created  in  Heaven  or  hell, 
how  Adam's  sin  is  breathed  into  it,  together  with 
the  breath  of  life,  and  how  the  Spirit  dwells  in 
it,  who  shall  inform  us  ?  But  this  we  know  full 
well, — we  know  it  from  our  own  recollection  of 
ourselves,  and  our  experience  of  children, — that 
there  is  in  the  infant  soul,  in  the  first  years  of  its 
regenerate  state,  a  discernment  of  the  unseen  world 
in  the  things  that  are  seen,  a  realization  of  what  is 
Sovereign  and  Adorable,  and  an  incredulity  and 
ignorance  about  what  is  transient  and  changeable, 
which  mark  it  as  the  fit  emblem  of  the  matured 


72  HOLY  INNOCENTS.  [Serm. 

Christian,  when  weaned  from  things  temporal,  and 
living  in  the  intimate  conviction  of  the  Divine  Pre- 
sence. I  do  not  mean  of  course  that  a  child  has 
any  formed  principle  in  his  heart,  any  habits  of 
obedience,  any  true  discrimination  between  the 
visible  and  the  unseen,  such  as  God  promises  to 
reward,  for  Christ's  sake,  in  those  who  come  to 
years  of  discretion.  Never  must  we  forget  that,  in 
spite  of  his  new  birth,  evil  is  within  him,  though  in 
its  seed  only ; — but  he  has  this  one  great  gift,  that 
he  seems  to  have  lately  come  from  God's  presence, 
and  not  to  understand  the  language  of  this  visible 
scene,  or  how  it  is  a  temptation,  how  it  is  a  veil 
interposing  itself  between  the  soul  and  God.  The 
simplicity  of  a  child's  ways  and  notions,  his  ready 
belief  of  every  thing  he  is  told,  his  artless  love,  his 
frank  confidence,  ^  his  confession  of  helplessness, 
his  ignorance  of  evil,  his  inability  to  conceal  his 
thoughts,  his  contentment,  his  j^rompt  forgetfulness 
of  trouble,  his  admiring  without  coveting;  and 
above  all,  his  reverential  spirit,  looking  at  all  things 
about  him  as  wonderful,  as  tokens  and  types  of  the 
One  Invisible,  are  all  evidence  of  his  being  lately  i 
(as  it  were)  a  visitant  in  a  higher  state  of  things. 
I  would  only  have  a  person  reflect  on  the  earnest- 
ness and  awe  with  which  a  child  listens  to  any 
description  or  tale  ;  or  again,  his  freedom  from  that 
spirit  of  proud  independence,  which  discovers  itself 
in  the  soul  as  time  goes  on.  And  though,  doubt- 
less, children  are  generally  of  a  weak  and  irritable 


1/ 


'^-I'UI^    uj^    l/lC(^lt  /-^tJUi 


VI.]  THE  MIND  OF  LIITLE  CHILDREN.  73 

nature,  and  all  are  not  equally  amiable,  yet  their 
passions  go  and  are  over  like  a  shower  ;  not  inter- 
fering with  the  lesson  we  may  gain  to  our  own 
profit  from  their  ready  faith  and  guilelessness. 

The  distinctness  with  which  the  conscience  of  a 
child  tells  him  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong  should  also  be  mentioned.  As  persons  ad- 
vance in  life,  and  yield  to  the  temptations  which 
come  upon  them,  they  lose  this  original  endowment, 
and  are  obliged  to  grope  about  by  the  mere  reason. 
If  they  debate  whether  they  should  act  in  this  way 
or  that,  and  there  are  many  considerations  of  duty 
and  interest  involved  in  the  decision,  they  feel 
altogether  perplexed.  Really  and  truly,  not  from 
self-deception,  but  really,  they  do  not  know  how 
they  ought  to  act ;  and  they  are  obliged  to  draw 
out  arguments,  and  take  a  great  deal  of  pains  to 
come  to  a  conclusion.  And  all  this,  in  many  cases 
at  least,  because  they  have  lost  through  sinning  a 
guide  which  they  originally  had  from  God.  Hence 
it  is  that  St.  John,  in  the  Epistle  for  the  day,  speaks 
of  Christ's  undefiled  servants  as  "  following  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth."  They  have  the 
minds  of  children,  and  are  able  by  the  light  within 
them  to  decide  questions  of  duty  at  once,  undis- 
turbed by  the  perplexity  of  discordant  arguments. 

In  what  has  already  been  said,  it  has  been  im- 
plied how  striking  a  pattern  a  child's  mind  gives 
us  of  what  may  be  called  a  church  temper.  Christ 
has  so  willed  it,  that  we  should  get  at  the  Truth, 


Ko 


74  HOLY  INNOCENTS.  [Serm. 

not  by  ingenious  speculations,  reasonings,  or  inves- 
tigations of  our  own,  but  by  teaching.      Tlie  Holy 
Church  has  been  set  up  from  the  beginning  as  a 
solemn  religious  fact,  so  to  call  it, — as  a  picture,  a 
revelation  of  the  next  world, — as  itself  the  Christ- 
ian Dispensation,  and  so  in  one  sense  the  witness 
of  its  own  divinity,  as  is  the  Natural  World.     Now, 
•^        ^     those  who  in  the  first  place  receive  her  words,  have 
^^^    1  -  the  minds  of  children,  who  do  not  reason,  but  obey 
^i**^  *^     their  mother ;  and  those  who  from  the  first  refuse, 
as  clearly  fall  short  of  children,  in  that  they  trust 
their  own  powers  for  truth,  rather  than  informants 
which  are  external  to  them. 

In  conclusion,  I  shall  but  remind  you  of  the  dif- 
ference, on  the  other  hand,  between  the  state  of  a 
child  and  that  of  a  matured  Christian  ;  though  this 
difference  is  almost  too  obvious  to  be  noticed.  St. 
John  says,  "  He  that  doeth  righteousness  is  righte- 
ous, even  as  He  is  righteous ;"  and  again  "  Every 
one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of  Him  '." 
Now,  it  is  plain  a  child's  innocence  has  no  share  in 
this  higher  blessedness.  He  is  but  a  type  of  what 
is  at  length  to  be  fulfilled  in  him.  The  chief  beauty 
of  his  mind  is  on  its  mere  surface ;  and  when,  as  time 
goes  on,  he  attempts  to  act,  (as  is  his  duty  to  do,) 
instantly  it  disappears.  It  is  only  while  he  is  still, 
that  he  is  like  a  tranquil  water,  reflecting  Heaven. 
Therefore,  we  must  not  lament  that  our  youthful 

'   1  John  iii.  7.  ii.  29. 


VI.]  THE  MIND  OF  LITTLE  CHILDREN.  75 

days  are  gone,  or  sigh  over  the  remembrances  of 
pure  pleasures  and  contemplations  which  we  can- 
not recall ;  rather,  what  we  were  when  children, 
is  a  blessed  intimation,  given  for  our  comfort,  of 
what  God  will  make  us,  if  we  surrender  our  hearts 
to  the  guidance  of  His  Holy  Spirit, — a  prophecy  of 
good  to  come, — a  foretaste  of  what  will  be  fulfilled 
in  heaven.  And  thus  it  is  that  a  child  is  a  pledge 
of  immortality;  for  he  bears  upon  him  in  figure 
those  high  and  eternal  excellences  in  which  the  joy 
of  heaven  consists ;  and  which  would  not  be  thus 
shadowed  forth  by  the  All-gracious  Creator,  were 
they  not  one  day  to  be  realized.  Accordingly,  our 
Church,  for  the  Epistle  for  this  Festival,  selects 
St.  John's  description  of  the  Saints  in  glory. 

As  then  we  would  one  day  reign  with  them,  let 
us  in  this  world  learn  the  mind  of  little  children, 
as  the  same  Apostle  describes  it :  "  My  little 
children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue, 
but  in  deed  and  in  truth.  Beloved,  let  us  love  one 
another,  for  love  is  of  God,  and  every  one  that 
loveth,  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth  God.  He 
that  loveth  not,  knoweth  not  God,  for  God  is 
love  \" 

1  1  John  iii.  18.  iv.  7,  8. 

r 


SERMON  VII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISIO^  OF  OUR  LORD. 
CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


Matt.  iii.  15. 

Suffer  it  to  be  so  now  ;  for  thus  it  becoraeth  us  to  fulfil  all 
righteousness. 

When  our  Lord  came  to  John  to  be  baptized,  He 
gave  this  reason  for  it,  "  Thus  it  becometh  us  to 
fulfil  all  righteousness  ;"  which  seems  to  mean, — 
"  it  is  becoming  in  Me,  the  expected  Christ,  to 
conform  in  all  respects  to  all  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  Judaism,  to  every  thing  hitherto  ac- 
counted sacred  and  binding."  Hence  it  was  that 
He  came  to  be  baptized,  to  show  that  it  was  not  His 
intention  in  any  way  to  dishonour  the  Established 
Religion,  but  to  fulfil  it  even  in  those  parts  of  it 
(such  as  Baptism)  which  were  later  than  the  time 
of  JNIoses ;  and  especially  to  acknowledge  thereby 
the  mission  of  John  the  Baptist,  His  forerunner. 
And  those  ordinances  which  Moses  himself  was 
commissioned  to  appoint,  had  still  greater  claim 
to  be  respected    and    observed.      It  was  on  this 


Seem.  VII.]         CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH.  77 

account  that  He  was  circumcised,  as  we  this  dav 
commemorate ;  in  order,  that  is,  to  show  that  He 
did  not  renounce  the  religion  of  Abraham,  to  whom 
God  gave  circumcision,  or  of  Moses,  by  whom  it 
was  embodied  in  the  Jewish  Law. 

We  have  other  instances  in  our  Lord's  history, 
besides  those  of  His  circumcision  and  baptism,  to 
show  the  reverence  with  which  He  regarded  the 
religion  which  He  came  to  fulfil.  St.  Paul  speaks 
of  Him  as  "  born  of  a  woman,  born  under  the 
LawV'  and  it  was  His  custom  to  observe  that  Law, 
like  any  other  Jew.  For  instance,  He  went  up  to 
the  feasts  at  Jerusalem ;  He  sent  the  persons  He 
had  cured  to  the  priests,  tO  offer  the  sin-offering 
commanded  by  Moses  ;  He  paid  the  Temple-tax ; 
and,  again.  He  attended  as  "  a  custom"  the  worship 
of  the  synagogue,  though  this  had  been  introduced 
in  an  age  long  after  Moses;  and  He  even  bade 
the  multitudes  obey  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  in 
all  lawful  things,  as  those  who  sat  in  Moses' 
place  ^ 

Such  was  our  Saviour's  dutiful  attention  to  the 
religious  system  under  which  He  was  bom;  and 
that,  not  only  so  far  as  it  was  directly  divine,  but 
further,  where  it  was  the  ordinance  of  uninspired 
though  pious  men,  where  it  was  but  founded  on 
ecclesiastical  authority.  His  Apostles  followed  His 
pattern;  and  this  is  still  more  remarkable: — be- 

'  Cfal.  iv.  4.  »  \fatt.  xxiii.  2,  3. 


78  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  CHRIST.  [Serm. 

cause  after  the  Holy  Spirit  had  descended,  at  first 
sight  it  would  have  appeared  that  all  the  Jewish 
Ordinances  ought  at  once  to  cease.  But  this  was 
far  from  being  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles.  They 
taught  indeed  that  the  Jewish  rites  were  no  longer 
of  any  use  in  obtaining  God's  favor;  that  Christ's 
death  was  now  set  forth  as  the  full  and  sufficient 
Atonement  for  sin,  by  that  Infinite  Mercy  who  had 
hitherto  appointed  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices  as  in 
some  sort  means  of  propitiation;  and,  besides, 
that  every  convert  who  turned  from  Christ  back 
to  Moses,  or  who  imposed  the  Jewish  rites 
upon  his  brethren  as  necessary  to  salvation,  was 
grievously  erring  against  the  Truth.  But  they 
neither  abandoned  the  Jewish  rites  themselves,  nor 
obliged  any  others  to  do  so  who  were  used  to  them. 
Custom  was  quite  a  sufficient  reason  for  retaining 
them ;  every  Christian  was  to  remain  in  the  state 
in  which  he  was  called ;  and  in  the  case  of  the 
Jew,  the  practice  of  them  did  not  necessarily  in- 
terfere with  a  true  and  full  trust  in  the  Atonement 
which  Christ  had  offered  for  sin. 

St.  Paul,  we  know,  was  the  most  strenuous  op- 
poser  of  those  who  would  oblige  the  Gentiles  to 
become  Jews,  as  a  previous  step  to  their  becoming 
Christians.  Yet,  decisive  as  he  is  against  all 
attempts  to  force  the  Gentiles  under  the  rites 
of  Law,  he  never  bids  the  Jews  renounce  them, 
rather  he  would  have  them  retain  them ;  leaving  it 
for  a  fresh  generation,   who   had   not   been   born 


VII.]  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH.  79 

under  them,  to  discontinue  them ;  so  that  the  use 
of  them  might  gradually  die  away.  Nay,  he  him- 
self circumcised  Timothy,  when  he  chose  him  for 
his  associate;  in  order  that  no  offence  might  be 
given  to  the  Jews  \  And  how  freely  he  adhered 
to  the  Law  in  his  own  person,  we  learn  from  the 
same  inspired  history ;  for  instance,  we  hear  of  his 
shaving  his  head,  as  having  been  under  a  vow^ 
according  to  the  Jewish  custom. 

Now  from  this  obedience  to  the  Jewish  Law, 
enjoined  and  displayed  by  our  Blessed  Lord  and 
His  Apostles,  we  learn  the  great  importance  of 
retaining  those  religious  forms  to  which  we  are 
accustomed,  even  though  they  are  in  themselves  in- 
different, or  not  of  divine  origin ;  and,  as  this  is  a 
truth  which  is  not  well  understood  by  the  world 
at  large,  it  may  be  of  use  to  make  some  observations 
upon  it. 

We  sometimes  meet  with  men,  who  ask  why 
we  observe  these  or  those  ceremonies  or  practices ; 
why,  for  example,  we  use  Forms  of  prayer  so 
cautiously  and  strictly  ?  or  why  we  persist  in  kneel- 
ing at  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper?  why 
in  bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  or  why  in  cele- 
brating the  public  worship  of  God  only  in  conse- 
crated places  ?  why  we  lay  such  stress  upon  these 
things  ?  These  and  many  such  questions  may  be 
asked,   and   all   with   this   argument ;    "  They  are 

'  Acts  xvi.  I — 3.  *  Acts  xviii.  18. 


80  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  CHRIST.  [Skhm. 

indifferent  matters,   we  do  not   read   of  them  in 
the  Bible." 

Now  the  direct  answer  to  this  objection  is,  that 
the  Bible  was  never  intended  to  enjoin  us  these 
things,  but  matters  of  faith ;  and  that  though  it 
happens  to  mention  our  practical  duties,  and  some 
points  of  form  and  discipline,  still,  that  it  does  not 
set  about  telling  us  what  to  do,  but  chiefly  what  to 
believe ;  and  that  there  are  many  duties  and  many 
crimes  which  are  not  mentioned  in  Scripture,  and 
which  we  must  find  out  by  our  own  understanding, 
enlightened  by  God's  Holy  Spirit.  For  instance, 
there  is  no  prohibition  of  suicide,  duelling,  gaming, 
in  Scripture  ;  yet  we  know  them  to  be  great  sins ; 
and  it  would  be  no  excuse  in  a  man  to  say  that  he 
does  not  find  them  forbidden  in  Scripture,  be- 
cause he  may  discover  God's  will  in  this  matter 
independently  of  Scripture.  And  in  like  manner 
various  matters  of  form  and  discipline  are  binding, 
though  Scripture  says  nothing  about  them ;  for  we 
learn  the  duty  in  another  way.  No  matter  Iiom' 
we  learn  God's  will,  whether  from  Scripture  or 
Antiquity,  or  what  St.  Paul  calls  "  Nature,"  so  that 
we  can  be  sure  it  is  His  will.  Matters  of  faith 
indeed  He  reveals  to  us  by  inspiration,  because 
they  are  supernatural ;  but  matters  of  moral  duty, 
through  our  own  conscience  and  divinely  guided 
reason ;  and  matters  of  form,  by  tradition  and 
long  usage,  which  bind  us  to  the  observance  of 
them,  though  they  are  not   enjoined   in  Scripture. 


VII]  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH.  81 

This,  I  say,  is  the  proper  answer  to  the  question, 
"  Why  do  you  observe  rites  and  forms  which  are 
not  enjoined  in  Scripture?"  though,  to  speak  the 
truth,  our  chief  ordinances  are  to  be  found  there, 
as  the  Sacraments,  Public  Worship,  the  Observance 
of  the  Lord's  day,  Ordination,  Marriage,  and  the 
like.  But  I  shall  make  another  answer,  which  is 
suggested  by  the  event  commemorated  this  day, 
our  Lord's  conforming  to  the  Jewish  Law  in  the 
rite  of  circumcision ;  and  my  answer  is  this. 

Scripture  tells  us  what  to  believe,  and  what  to  aim 
at  and  maintain,  but  it  does  not  tell  us  Jiow  to  do 
it ;  and  as  we  cannot  do  it  at  all  unless  we  do  it  in 
this  manner  or  that,  in  fact  we  must  add  something 
to  what  Scripture  tells  us.  For  example.  Scripture 
tells  us  to  meet  together  for  prayer,  and  has  con- 
nected the  grant  of  the  Christian  blessings  on 
God's  part,  with  the  observance  of  union  on  ours ; 
but  since  it  does  not  tell  us  the  times  and  places 
of  prayer,  the  Church  must  complete  that  which 
Scripture  has  but  enjoined  generally.  Our  Lord 
has  instituted  two  Sacraments,  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  but  has  not  told^us,  except  generally, 
with  what  forms  we  are  to  administer  them.  Yet 
we  cannot  administer  them  without  some  sort  of 
prayers ;  whether  we  use  always  the  same,  or  not 
the  same,  or  unpremeditated  prayers.  And  so  with 
many  other  solemn  acts,  such  as  Ordination,  or 
Marriage,  or  Burial  of  the  dead,  it  is  evidently 
pious,    and   becomes  Christians  to   perform    them 

VOL.  II.  G 


82  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  CHRIST.  [Serm. 

decently  and  in  faith ;  yet  how  is  this  to  be  done, 
unless  the  Church  sanctions  Forms  of  doing  it  ? 

The  Bible  then  may  be  said  to  give  us  the  spirit 
of  religion ;  but  the  Church  must  provide  the 
body  in  which  that  spirit  is  to  be  lodged.  Reli- 
gion must  be  realized  in  particular  acts,  in  order 
to  its  continuing  alive.  Religionists,  for  example, 
who  give  up  the  Church  rites,  are  forced  to  recall 
the  strict  Judaical  Sabbath.  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  abstract  religion.  When  persons  attempt  to 
worship  in  this  (what  they  call)  more  spiritual 
manner,  they  end,  in  fact,  in  not  worshipping  at  all. 
This  frequently  happens.  Every  one  may  know  it 
from  his  own  experience  of  himself  Youths,  for 
instance,  (and  perhaps  those  who  should  know 
better  than  they,)  sometimes  argue  with  themselves, 
"  What  is  the  need  of  praying  statedly  morning 
and  evening  ?  why  use  a  form  of  words  ?  why  kneel  ? 
why  cannot  I  pray  in  bed,  or  walking,  or  dressing  ?" 
they  end  in  not  praying  at  all.  Again,  what  will 
the  devotion  of  the  country  people  be,  if  we  strip 
religion  of  its  external  symbols,  and  bid  them  seek 
out  and  gaze  upon  the  Invisible  ?  Scripture  gives 
the  spirit,  and  the  Church  the  bodi/,  to  our  worship ; 
and  we  may  as  well  expect  that  the  spirits  of  men 
might  be  seen  by  us  without  the  intervention  of 
their  bodies,  as  suppose  that  the  Object  of  faith  can 
be  realized  in  a  world  of  sense  and  excitement 
without  the  instrumentality  of  an  outward  form  to 
arrest  and  fix  attention,  to  stimulate  the  careless. 


VII.]  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH.  83 

and  to  encourage  the  desponding.  But  observe 
what  follows ; — who  would  say  our  bodies  are  not 
part  of  ourselves  ?  We  may  apply  the  illustration  ; 
for  in  like  manner  the  forms  of  devotion  are  parts 
of  devotion.  Who  can  in  practice  separate  his 
view  of  body  and  spirit  ?  for  example,  what  a  friend 
would  he  be  to  us  who  should  treat  us  ill,  or  deny 
us  food,  or  imprison  us ;  and  say,  after  all,  that  it 
was  our  body  he  ill-treated,  and  not  our  soul  ? 
Even  so,  no  one  can  really  respect  religion,  and 
insult  its  form.  Granting  that  the  forms  are  not 
immediately  from    God,   still  long   use  has   made 

^  them  divine  to  m ;  for  the  spirit  of  religion  has  so 
penetrated  and  quickened  them,  that  to  destroy 
them  is  in  respect  to  the  multitude  of  men  to 
unsettle  and  dislodge  the  religious  principle  itself. 
In  most  minds  usage  has  so  identified  them  with 
the  notion  of  religion,  that  the  one  cannot  be  extir- 
pated without  the  other.  Their  faith  will  not  bear 
transplanting.  Till  we  have  given  some  attention 
to  the  peculiarities  of  human  nature,  whether  from 
watching  our  own  hearts,  or  from  experience  of 
life,  we  can  scarcely  form  a  correct  estimate  how 
intimately  great  and  little  matters  are  connected 
together  in  all  cases ;  how  the  circumstances  and 
accidents  (as  they  might  seem)  of  our  habits  are 
almost  conditions  of  those  habits  themselves.  How 
common  it  is  for  men  to  have  seasons  of  serious- 
ness, how  exact  is  their  devotion  during  them,  how 

^         suddenly  they  come  to  an  end,  how  completely  all 


84  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  CHRIST.  [Serm. 

traces  of  them  vanish,  yet  how  comparatively  trifling 
is  the  cause  of  the  relapse,  a  change  of  place  or 
occupation,  or  a  day's  interruption  of  regularity 
\  in  their  religious  course !  Consider  the  sudden 
changes  in  opinion  and  profession,  religious  or 
secular,  which  occur  in  life,  the  proverbial  fickle- 
ness of  the  multitude,  the  influence  of  watchwords 
and  badges  upon  the  fortunes  of  political  parties, 
,  the  surprising  falls  which  sometimes  overtake  well- 
meaning  and  really  respectable  men,  the  incon- 
sistencies of  even  the  holiest  and  most  perfect, 
and  you  will  have  some  insight  into  the  danger  of 
practising  on  the  externals  of  faith  and  devotion. 
Precious  doctrines  are  strung,  like  jewels,  upon 
slender  threads. 

Our  Saviour  and  His  Apostles  sanction  these 
remarks,  in  their  treatment  of  those  Jewish  cere- 
monies, which  have  led  me  to  make  them.  St. 
Paul  calls  them  weak  and  unprofitable,  weak  and 
beggarly  elements '.  So  they  were  in  themselves, 
but  to  those  who  were  used  to  them,  they  were 
an  edifying  and  living  service.  Else  why  did  the 
Apostles  observe  them  ?  Why  did  they  recommend 
them  to  the  Jews  whom  they  converted  ?  Were  they 
merely  consulting  for  the  prejudices  of  a  reprobate 
nation  ?  The  Jewish  rites  were  to  disappear  ;  yet 
no  one  was  bid  forcibly  separate  himself  from  what 
he  had  long  used,  lest  he  lost  his  sense  of  religion 


*»  Hebr.  vii.  18.     Gal.  iv.  9. 


VII.]  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH.  85 

also.  Much  more  will  this  hold  good  with 
forms  such  as  ours,  which,  so  far  from  being  abro- 
gated by  the  Apostles,  were  introduced  by  them  or 
their  immediate  successors ;  and  which,  besides  the 
influence  they  exert  over  us  from  long  usage,  are 
many  of  them  witnesses  and  types  of  precious  gos- 
pel truths  ;  nay,  much  more,  possess  a  sacramental 
nature,  and  are  adapted  and  reasonably  accounted 
to  convey  a  gift,  even  where  they  are  not  formally 
sacraments  by  Christ's  institution.  Who,  for  in- 
stance, could  be  hard-hearted  and  perverse  enough 
to  ridicule  the  notion  that  a  father's  blessing  may 
profit  his  children,  even  though  Christ  and  His 
Apostles  have  not  in  so  many  words  declared  it  ? 

Much  might  be  said  on  this  subject,  which  is  a 
very  important  one.  In  these  times  especially, 
we  should  be  on  our  guard  against  those,  who  hope 
by  inducing  us  to  lay  aside  our  forms,  at  length  to 
make  us  lay  aside  our  Christian  hope  altogether. 
This  is  why  the  Church  itself  is  attacked,  because  it 
is  the  living  form,  the  visible  body  of  religion ;  and 
shrewd  men  know  that  when  it  goes,  religion  will 
go  too.  This  is  why  they  rail  at  so  many  usages  as 
superstitious;  or  propose  alterations  and  changes, 
a  measure  especially  calculated  to  shake  the  faith  of 
the  multitude.  Recollect  then,  that  things  indifferent 
in  themselves,  become  important  to  us  when  we  are 
used  to  them.  The  services  and  ordinances  of  the 
Church  are  the  outward  form  in  which  religion 
has  been  for  ages  represented  to  the  world,  and 


86  THE  CIRCUMCISION  OF  CHRIST.  [Sebm. 

has  ever  been  known  to  us.  Places  consecrated  to 
God's  honour,  clergy  carefully  set  apart  for  His 
service,  the  Lord's-day  piously  observed,  the  pub- 
lic forms  of  prayer,  the  decencies  of  worship, 
these  things  viewed  as  a  whole,  are  sacred  rela- 
tively to  us,  even  if  they  were  not,  as  they  are, 
divinely  sanctioned.  Rites,  which  the  Church  has 
appointed,  and  with  reason,  for  the  Church's  au- 
thority is  from  Christ,  being  long  used,  cannot  be 
disused  without  harm  to  our  souls.  Confirmation, 
for  instance,  may  be  argued  against,  and  under- 
valued ;  but  surely  no  one  in  the  common  run  of 
men  wilfully  resists  the  Ordinance,  but  will  thereby 
be  visibly  a  worse  Christian  than  he  otherwise  would 
have  been.  He  will  find  (or  rather  others  will  find 
for  him,  for  he  will  scarcely  know  it  himself,)  that 
he  has  declined  in  faith,  humility,  devotional  feeling, 
reverence,  and  sobriety.  And  so  in  the  case  of  all 
other  forms,  even  the  least  binding  in  themselves, 
it  continually  happens  that  a  speculative  improve- 
ment is  a  practical  folly,  and  the  wise  are  taken  in 
their  own  craftiness.  I 

Therefore,  when  profane  per$on8  scoff  at  our 
forms,  let  us  argue  with  ourselves,  thus ;  and  it  is 
an  argument  which  all  men,  learned  or  unlearned, 
can  enter  into.  "  These  forms,  even  were  they  of 
mere  human  origin,  (which  learned  men  say  is 
not  the  case,  but  even  if  they  were,)  are  at  least  of 
as  spiritual  and  edifying  a  character  as  the  rites  of 
Judaism.     Yet  Christ  and   His   Apostles  did  not 


VII.]  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CHURCH.  87 

even  sufter  these  latter  to  be  irreverently  treated  or 
suddenly  discarded.  Much  less  may  we  suffer  it  in 
the  case  of  our  own ;  lest  stripping  off  from  us  the 
badges  of  our  profession,  we  forget  there  is  a  faith 
for  us  to  maintain,  and  a  world  of  sinners  to  be 
eschewed."        1 1  ^  -i 

'-    r         ''    fiu^J^   }c^..^    ■^■^kS. 


SERMON    VIII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  EPIPHANY. 
THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


Isaiah  Ix.  1. 


Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is 
risen  upon  thee. 

Our  Saviour  said  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  The 
hour  Cometh,  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  moun- 
tain, nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father  \" 
And  upon  to-day's  Festival  I  may  say  to  you 
in  His  words  on  another  occasion,  "  This  day  is 
this  scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  This  day  we 
commemorate  the  opening  the  door  of  faith  to  the 
Gentiles,  the  extension  of  the  Church  of  God 
through  all  lands,  whereas,  before  Christ's  coming, 
it  had  been  confined  to  one  nation  only.  This 
dissemination  of  the  Truth  throughout  the  woi'i 
had  been  the  subject  of  prophecy,  "  Enlarge  the 
place  of  thy  tent,  and  let  them  stretch  forth  the 

'  Johniv.  21. 


Serm.vIII]  the  glory  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  89 

curtains  of  thine  habitations.  Spare  not,  lengthen 
thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes.  For  thou 
shalt  break  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left ; 
and  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  Gentiles,  and  make 
the  desolate  cities  to  be  inhabited  \  In  these  words 
the  Church  is  addressed  as  Catholic ;  which  is  the  L^  oKt 
distinguishing  title  of  the  Christian  Church,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  Jewish.  The  Christian  Church  is 
so  constituted  as  to  be  able  to  spread  itself  out 
in  its  separate  branches  into  all  regions  of  the 
earth  ;  so  that  in  every  nation  there  may  be  found 
a  representative  and  an  offshoot  of  the  sacred  and 
gifted  Society,  set  up  once  for  all  by  our  Lord  after 
His  resurrection. 

This  characteristic  blessing  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  its  Catholic  nature,  is  a  frequent  subject 
of  rejoicing  with  St.  Paul,  who  was  the  chief  in- 
strument of  its  propagation.  In  one  Epistle  he 
speaks  of  Gentiles  being  "  fellow-heirs"  ^ith  the 
Jews,  "  and  of  the  same  body,  and  partakers  of  His 
promise  in  Christ  by  the  Gospel."  In  another  he 
enlarges  on  the  "  mystery  now  made  manifest  to 
the  saints,  viz.  Christ  among  the  Gentiles,  the  hope 
of  glory  ^" 

The  day  on  which  we  commemorate  this  gracious 
appointment  of  God's  Providence,  is  called  the 
Epiphany,  or  bright  manifestation  of  Christ  to  the 
Gentiles;  being  the   day  on  which   the  wise-men 

'  Is.  liv.  2,  3.  »  Eph.  iii.  6.     Col.  i.  26,  27. 


90  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Sekm. 

came  from  the  East  under  guidance  of  a  star,  to 
worship  Him,  and  thus  became  the  first  fruits  of 
the  heathen  world.  The  name  is  explained  by  the 
words  of  the  text,  which  occur  in  one  of  the  lessons 
selected  for  to-day's  service,  and  in  which  the 
Church  is  addressed.  "  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light 
is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee. 
For  behold,  the  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth,  and 
gross  darkness  the  people ;  but  the  Lord  shall  rise 
upon  thee,  and  His  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee, 
and  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  Kings 
to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising.  .  .  .  Thy  people  also 
shall  be  all  righteous,  they  shall  inherit  the  land  for 
ever,  the  branch  of  My  planting,  the  work  of  My 
hands,  that  I  may  be  glorified '." 

That  this  and  other  similar  prophecies  had  their 
measure  of  fulfilment  when  Christ  came,  we  all  know; 
when  His  Church,  built  upon  the  Apostles  and  Pro- 
phets, wonderfully  branched  out  from  Jerusalem  as 
a  centre  into  the  heathen  world  round  about,  and 
gathering  into  it  men  of  all  ranks,  languages,  and 
characters,  moulded  them  upon  one  pattern,  the 
pattern  of  their  Saviour,  in  truth,  and  righteousness. 
Thus  the  prophecies  concerning  the  Church  were 
fulfilled  at  that  time  in  two  respects,  as  regards  its 
sanctity  and  its  Catholicity. 

It  is  often  asked,  have  these  prophecies  had  then 
and   since  their  perfect  accomplishment?     Or  are 

'  Is.  Ix.  1—3.  21. 


VIIL]    THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.     91 

we  to  expect  a  more  complete  Christianizing  of 
the  world  than  has  hitherto  been  vouchsafed  it  ? 
And  it  is  usual  at  the  present  day  to  acquiesce 
in  the  latter  alternative,  as  if  the  inspired  pre- 
dictions certainly  meant  more  than  has  yet  been 
realized. 

Now  so  much  I  think  is  plain  on  the  face  of  them, 
that  the  Gospel  is  to  be  preached  in  all  lands, 
before  the  end  comes :  "  This  gospel  of  the  king- 
dom shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness 
unto  all  nations ;  and  then  shall  the  end  come  ^" 
Whether  it  has  been  thus  preached  is  a  question 
of  fact,  which  must  be  determined,  not  from  the 
prophecy,  but  from  history;  and  there  we  may  leave 
it.  But,  as  to  the  other  expectation,  that  a  time 
of  greater  purity  is  in  store  for  the  Church,  that  is 
not  easily  to  be  granted.  The  very  words  of  Christ 
just  quoted,  so  far  from  speaking  of  the  gospel  as 
tending  to  the  conversion  of  the  world  at  large, 
when  preached  in  it,  describe  it  only  as  a  witness 
unto  all  the  Gentiles,  as  if  the  many  would  not 
obey  it.  And  this  intimation  runs  parallel  to  St. 
Paul's  account  of  the  Jewish  Church,  as  realizing 
faith  and  obedience  only  in  a  residue  out  of  the 
whole  people ;  and  is  further  illustrated  by  St. 
John's  language  in  the  Apocalypse,  who  speaks  of 
the  "  redeemed  from   among   men,"  being  but   a 

'  Matt.  xxiv.  14. 


92  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Serm. 

remuant,  "  the  first  fruits   unto  God  and    to  the 
Lamb  ^" 

However,  I  will  readily  allow  that  at  first  we  shall 
feel  a  reluctance  in  submitting  to  this  opinion,  with 
such  passages  before  us  as  that  which  occurs  in  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  where  it  is 
promised,  "  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  My 
holy  mountain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 
I  say  it  is  natural,  with  such  texts  in  the  memory,  to 
look  out  for  what  is  commonly  called  a  Millennium. 
It  may  be  instructive  then  upon  this  day  to  make 
some  remarks  in  explanation  of  the  state  and  pros- 
pects of  the  Christian  Church  in  this  respect. 

Now  the  system  of  this  world  depends,  in  a  way 
unknown  to  us,  both  on  God's  Providence  and  on 
human  agency.  Every  event,  every  course  of  action, 
has  two  faces ;  it  is  divine  and  j)erfect,  and  it 
belongs  to  man,  and  is  marked  with  his  sin.  I 
observe  next,  that  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture to  represent  the  world  on  its  providential  side ; 
ascribing  all  that  happens  in  it  to  Him  who  rules 
and  directs  it,  as  it  moves  along,  tracing  events  to 
His  sole  agency,  or  viewing  them  only  so  far  forth 
as  He  acts  in  them.  Thus  He  is  said  to  harden 
Pharaoh's  heart,  and  to  hinder  the  Jews  from  be- 

*  Rom.  xi.  5.     Rev.  xiv.  4. 


VIII.]    THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.     93 

lieving  in  Christ ;  wherein  is  signified  His  absolute 
sovereignty  over  all  human  affairs  and  courses.  As 
common  is  it  for  Scripture  to  consider  Dispensa- 
tions, not  in  their  actual  state,  but  as  His  agency 
would  mould  them,  and  so  far  as  it  really  does 
succeed  in  realizing  them.  For  instance ;  "  God, 
who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love  wherewith 
He  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath 
quickened  us  together  with  Christ  \"  This  is  said 
as  if  the  Ephesians  had  no  traces  left  in  their  hearts 
of  Adam's  sin  and  spiritual  death.  As  it  is  said 
afterwards,  "  Ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but  now 
are  ye  light  in  the  Lord  ^" 

In  other  words,  Scripture  more  commonly  speaks 
of  the  divine  design  and  substantial  work,  than  of  the 
meamre  of  fulfilment  which  it  receives  at  this  time  or 
that ;  as  St.  Paul  expresses,  when  he  says  that  the 
Ephesians  were  chosen,  that  they  "  should  be  holy 
and  unblameable  before  Him  in  love."  Or  it  speaks 
of  the  profession  of  the  Christian ;  as  when  he  says, 
"  As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ, 
have  put  on  Christ;" — or  of  the  tendency  of  the 
Divine  gift  in  a  long  period  of  time,  and  of  its 
ultimate  fruits;  as  in  the  words,  "Christ  loved  the 
Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it,  that  he  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water 
by  the  word,  that  He  might  present  to  Himself  a 
glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any 

1  Eph.  ii.  4,  5.  »  Eph.  v.  8. 


94  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Serm. 

such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish  \"  in  which  Baptism  and  final  salvation  are 
viewed  as  if  indissolubly  connected.  This  rule  of 
Scripture  interpretation  admits  of  very  extensive 
application,  and  I  proceed  to  illustrate  it. 

The  principle  under  consideration  is  this;  that, 
whereas  God  is  one,  and  His  will  one,  and  His 
purpose  one,  and  His  work  one,  whereas  all  He  is 
and  does  is  absolutely  perfect  and  complete,  inde- 
pendent of  time  and  place,  and  sovereign  over 
creation,  whether  inanimate  or  moral,  yet  that  in 
His  actual  dealings  with  this  world,  that  is,  in  all 
in  which  we  see  His  Providence,  in  that  man  is 
imperfect,  and  has  a  will  of  his  ovni,  and  lives  in 
time,  and  is  moved  by  circumstances.  He  seems 
to  work  by  a  process,  by  means  and  ends,  by  steps, 
by  victories  hardly  gained,  and  failures  repaired, 
and  sacrifices  ventured.  Thus  it  is  only  when  we 
view  His  dispensations  at  a  distance,  as  the  Angels 
do,  that  we  see  their  harmony  and  their  unity; 
whereas  Scripture,  anticipating  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  places  at  their  very  head  and  first  point 
of  origination  all  that  belongs  to  them  respectively 
in  their  fulness. 

We  find  some  exemplification  of  this  principle  in 
the  call  of  Abraham.     In  every  age  of  the  world  it ) 
has  held  good  that  the  just  shall  live  by  faith ; 
yet  it  was  determined  in  the  deep  counsels  of  God, 

'  Eph.  i.  4.     Gal.  iii.  27.      Eph.  v.  25—27. 
1 


VIII.]  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      95 

that  for  a  while  this  truth  should  be  partially 
obscured,  as  far  as  His  revelations  went ;  that  man 
should  live  by  sight,-  miracles  and  worldly  ordi- 
nances, taking  the  place  of  silent  providences  and 
spiritual  services.  In  the  later  times  of  the  Jewish 
Law  the  original  doctrine  was  brought  to  light, 
and  when  the  Divine  object  of  faith  was  born  into 
the  world,  it  was  authoritatively  set  forth  by  His 
Apostles  as  the  basis  of  all  acceptable  worship. 
But  observe,  it  had  been  already  anticipated  in  the 
instance  of  Abraham;  the  evangelical  covenant, 
which  was  not  to  be  preached  till  near  two  thou- 
sand years  afterwards,  was  revealed  and  transacted 
in  his  person.  "  Abraham  believed'  God,  and  it 
was  counted  unto  Him  for  righteousness."  "  Abra- 
ham rejoiced  to  see  My  day;  and  he  saw  it,  and 
was  glad\"  Nay,  in  the  commanded  sacrifice  of 
His  Beloved  Son,  was  shadowed  out  the  true  Lamb 
which  God  had  provided  for  a  burnt-offering. 
Thus  in  the  call  of  the  Patriarch,  in  whose  Seed  all 
nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed,  the  great 
outlines  of  the  Gospel  "were  anticipated ;  in  that 
he  was  called  in  uncircumcision,  he  was  justified 
by  faith,  he  trusted  in  God's  power  to  raise  the 
dead,  he  looked  forward  to  the  day  of  Christ,  and 
he  was  vouchsafed  a  vision  of  the  Atoning  Sacrifice 
on  Calvary. 

We  call  these  notices  p'ophecij,  popularly  speak- 

'   Rom.  iv.  3.      John  viii.  56. 


96  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Serm. 

ing,  and  doubtless  such  they  are  to  us,  and  to  be 
received  and  used  thankfully ;  but  more  properly 
perhaps,  they  are  merely  instances  of  the  harmo- 
nious movement  of  God's  word  and  deed,  His  seal- 
ing up  events  from  the  first.  His  introducing  them 
once  and  for  all,  though  they  are  but  gradually 
unfolded  to  our  limited  faculties,  and  in  this  tran- 
sitory scene.  It  would  seem  that  at  the  time  when 
Abraham  was  called,  both  the  course  of  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  the  coming  of  Christ,  were  (so  to 
say)  realized ;  so  as  in  one  sense,  to  be  actually 
done  and  over.  Hence,  in  one  passage,  Christ  is 
called  "  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world ;"  in  another,  it  is  said,  that  "  Levi  paid 
tithes"  to  Melchizedek,  "  in  Abraham  \" 

Similar  remarks  might  be  made  on  the  call  and 
reign  of  David,  and  the  building  of  the  second 
Templet 

'  Rev,  xiii.  8.     Heb.  vii.  9. 

^  In  the  instance  of  the  first  [Temple]  there  clearly  is  not 
the  same  combination  of  the  Mystical  sense  with  the  Temporal. 
The  prediction  joined  with  the  building  of  Solomon's  Temple  is 
of  a  simple  kind  ;  perhaps  it  relates  purely  and  solely  to  the  pro- 
per Temple  itself.  But  the  second  Temple  rises  with  a  different 
structure  of  prophecy  upon  it.  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi, 
have  each  delivered  some  symbolical  prediction,  connected  with 
it,  or  with  its  priesthood  and  worship.  Why  this  difference  in 
the  two  cases  ?  I  think  the  answer  is  clear ;  it  is  a  difference 
obviously  relating  to  the  nearer  connexion  which  the  second 
Temple  has  with  the  Gospel.  When  God  gave  them  their  first 
Temple,  it  was  doomed  to  fall,  and  rise  again,  under  and  during 


VIII.]    THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      97 

In  like  manner  the  Christian  Church  had  in  the 
day  of  its  nativity  all  that  fulness  of  holiness  and 
peace  named  upon  it,  and  sealed  up  to  it,  which 
beseemed  it,  viewed  as  God's  design,  viewed  in  its 
essence,  as  it  is  realized  at  all  times  and  under 
whatever  circumstances,  viewed  as  God's  work  with- 
out man's  co-operation,  viewed  as  God's  work  in  its 
tendency,  and  in  its  ultimate  blessedness ;  so  that 
the  titles  given  it  upon  earth  are  a  picture  of  what 
it  will  be  absolutely  in  heaven.  This  might  also  be 
instanced  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish  Church,  as  in 
Jeremiah's  description ;  "  I  remember  thee,  the 
kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love  of  thine  espousals, 
when  thou  wentest  after  Me  in  the  wilderness,  in  a 
land  that  was  not  sown.  Israel  was  holiness  unto 
the  Lord,  and  the  first-fruits  of  His  increase  '."  As 
to  the  Christian  Church,  one  passage  descriptive  of 
its  blessedness  from  its  first  founding  has  already 
been  cited  ;  to  which  I  add  the  following  by  way  of 
specimen :  "  The  Gentiles  shall  see  thy  righteous- 
ness, and  all  kings  thy  glory ;  and  thou  shalt  be 
called  by  a  new  name,  which  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  shall  name.     Thou  shalt  also  be  a  crown  of 

their  first  economy.  The  elder  prophecy,  therefore,  was  directed 
to  the  proper  history  of  the  first  Temple.  But  when  he  gave 
them  their  second  Temple,  Christianity  was  then  nearer  in  view ; 
through  that  second  edifice  lay  the  Gospel  prospect.  Its  resto- 
ration, therefore,  was  marked  by  a  kind  of  prophecy,  which  had 
its  vision  towards  the  Gospel." — Davison  on  Prophecy,  Dis- 
course vi.  part  4. 

'  Jer.  ii.  2,  3. 

VOL.  II.  H 


98  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Serm. 

glory  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  a  royal  diadem 
in  the  hand  of  thy  God  ....  As  the  bridegroom 
rejoiceth  over  the  bride,  so  shall  thy  God  rejoice 
over  thee."  "  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed ;  but  My  kindness  shall  not  depart 
from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  My  peace 
be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on 
thee.  All  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord, 
and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children." 
"  Behold,  I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms  of 
My  hands;  thy  walls  are  continually  before  Me. 
Lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and  be- 
hold; all  these  gather  themselves  together,  and 
come  to  thee.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  thou 
shalt  surely  clothe  thee  vv^ith  them  all,  as  with  an 
ornament,  and  bind  them  on  thee,  as  a  bride  doeth." 
"  Violence  shall  no  more  be  heard  in  thy  land, 
wasting  nor  destruction  within  thy  borders  ;  but 
thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  salvation,  and  thy  gates 
praise  K"  In  these  passages,  which  in  their  con- 
text certainly  refer  to  the  time  of  Christ's  coming, 
an  universality  and  a  purity  are  promised  to  the 
Church,  which  have  their  fulfilment  only  in  the 
course  of  its  history,  from  first  to  last,  as  fore- 
shortened and  viewed  as  one  whole. 

Consider,  again,  the  representations  given  us  of 
Christ's  Kingdom.  First,  it  is  called  the  '*  King- 
dom of  Heaven,''  though  on  earth.     Again,  in  the 

'  Isa.  Ixii.  2.  3.  5;  liv.  10.  13;  xlix.  16.  18;  Ix.  18. 


VIIL]    THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.     99 

Angels'  hymn,  it  is  proclaimed  "  on  earth  peace," 
in  accordance  with  the  prophetic  description  of  the 
Messiah  as  "  the  Prince  of  Peace ;"  though  He 
Himself,  speaking  of  the  earthlj,  not  the  divine  side 
of  His  dispensation,  said.  He  came  "  not  to  send 
peace  on  earth,  but  a  sword  ^"  Further,  consider 
Gabriel's  announcement  to  the  Virgin  concerning 
her  Son  and  Lord ;  "  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall 
be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord 
God  shall  give  unto  Him  the  throne  of  His  father 
David ;  and  He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob 
for  ever,  and  of  His  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end." 
Or,  as  the  same  Saviour  had  been  foretold  by  Eze- 
kiel ;  "  I  will  set  up  one  Shepherd  over  them,  and 
He  shall  feed  them  ....  I  will  make  with  them  a 
covenant  of  peace,  and  will  cause  the  evil  beasts 
to  cease  out  of  the  land  ;  and  they  shall  dwell  safely 
in  the  wilderness,  and  sleep  in  the  woods.  And  I 
will  make  them  and  the  places  round  about  My 
hill,  a  blessing;  and  I  will  cause  the  shower  to 
come  down  in  his  season ;  there  shall  be  showers  of 
blessing  ^"  It  is  observable  that  in  the  two  pas- 
sages last  cited,  the  Christian  Church  is  considered 
as  merely  the  continuation  of  the  Jewish,  as  if  the 
Gospel  existed  in  its  germ  even  under  the  Law. 

Now  it  is  undeniable,  and  so  blessed  a  truth  that 
one  would  not  wish  at  all  to  question  it,  that  when 
Christ  first  came.  His  followers  were  in  a  state  of 

'  Matt.  X.  34.  »  Luke  i.  32,  33.    Ezek.  xxxiv.  23.  25,  26. 

H  2 


100  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Sehm. 

spiritual  purity,  far  above  any  thing  which  we  wit- 
ness in  the  Church  at  this  day.  That  glory  with 
which  her  face  shone,  as  Moses  of  old  time,  from 
communion  with  her  Saviour  on  the  holy  Mount, 
is  the  earnest  of  what  will  one  day  be  perfected ; 
it  is  a  token  held  out  to  us  of  a  dark  age,  that  His 
promise  stands  sure,  and  admits  of  accomplishment. 
They  continued  "  in  gladness  and  singleness  of 
heart,  praising  God,  and  having  favour  with  all  the 
people."  Here  was  a  pledge  of  eternal  blessedness, 
the  same  in  kind  as  a  child's  innocence  is  a  fore- 
shadowing of  a  holy  immortality  ;  and  the  baptismal 
robe,  of  the  fine  linen,  clean  and  white,  which  is  the 
righteousness  of  saints  ; — a  pledge  like  the  typical 
promises  made  to  David,  Solomon,  Cyrus,  or  Joshua 
the  high-priest.  Yet  at  the  same  time  the  corrup- 
tions in  the  early  Church,  Galatian  misbelief,  and 
Corinthian  excess,  show  too  clearly  that  her  early 
glories  were  not  more  than  a  pledge,  except  in  the 
case  of  individuals,  a  pledge  of  God's  purpose,  a 
witness  of  man's  depravity. 

The  same  interpretation  will  apply  to  the  Scrip- 
ture account  of  the  Elect  People  of  God,  which  is 
but  the  Church  of  Christ  under  another  name.  On 
them,  upon  their  election,  are  bestowed,  as  on  a 
body,  the  gifts  of  justification,  holiness,  and  final 
salvation.  The  perfections  of  Christ  are  shed 
around  them ;  His  image  is  reflected  from  them ; 
so  that  they  receive  His  Name,  as  being  in  Him, 
and  beloved  of  God  in  the  Beloved.     Thus  in  their 


VIII.]  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.     101- 

election  are  sealed  up,  to  be  unrolled  and  enjoyed 
in  due  season,  the  successive  privileges  of  the  heirs 
of  light.  In  God's  purpose — according  to  His  grace 
— in  the  tendency  and  ultimate  effects  of  His  dis- 
pensation— to  be  called  and  chosen  is  to  be  saved. 
"  Whom  He  did  foreknow,  He  also  did  predes- 
tinate ;  whom  He  did  predestinate,  them  He  also 
called ;  whom  He  called,  them  He  also  justified ; 
whom  He  justified,  them  He  also  glorified  \"  Ob- 
serve, the  whole  scheme  is  spoken  of  as  of  a  thing 
past;  for  in  His  deep  counsel  He  contemplated 
from  everlasting  the  one  entire  work,  and  having 
decreed  it,  it  is  but  a  matter  of  time,  of  sooner  or 
later,  when  it  will  be  realized.  As  the  Lamb  was 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  so  also  were 
His  redeemed  gathered  in  from  the  first  according 
to  His  fore-knowledge ;  and  it  is  not  more  incon- 
sistent with  the  solemn  announcement  of  the  text 
just  cited,  that  some  once  elected  should  fall  away, 
(as  we  know  they  do,)  than  that  an  event  should  be( 
spoken  of  in  it  as  past  and  perfect,  which  is  incom-\ 
plete  and  future.  All  accidents  are  excluded,  when 
He  speaks ;  the  present  and  the  to  come,  delays  and 
failures,  vanish  before  the  thought  of  His  perfect 
work.  And  hence  it  happens  that  the  word  "  elect" 
in  Scripture  has  two  senses,  standing  both  for  those 
who  are  called  in  wder  to  salvation,  and  for  those, 
who  at  the  last  day,  shall  be  the  actu{dly  residting 
fruit  of  that  holy  call.  For  God's  Providence  moves 

'  Rom.  viii.  29,  30. 


102  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Seem. 

by  great  and  comprehensive  laws ;  and  His  word  is 
the  mirror  of  His  designs,  not  of  man's  partial 
success  in  thwarting  His  gracious  will. 

The  Church  then,  considered  as  one  army  mili- 
tant, proceeding  forward  from  the  house  of  bondage 
to  Canaan,  gains  the  victory,  and  accomplishes  what 
is  predicted  of  her,  though  many  soldiers  fall  in  the 
battle.  While,  however,  they  remain  within  her 
lines,  they  are  included  in  her  blessedness  so  far  as 
to  be  partakers  of  the  gifts  flowing  from  election 
And  hence  it  is  that  so  much  stress  is  to  be  laid 
upon  the  duty  of  united  worship ;  for  thus  the 
multitude  of  believers  coming  together,  claim  as 
one  man  the  grace  which  is  poured  out  upon  the 
one  undivided  body  of  Christ  mystical.  "  Where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  His  name, 
He  is  in  the  midst  of  them  ;"  nay  rather,  blessed  be 
His  Name  !  He  is  so  one  with  them,  that  they  are 
not  their  own,  lose  for  the  time  their  earth-stains, 
are  radiant  in  His  infinite  holiness,  and  have  the 
promise  of  His  eternal  favour.  Viewed  as  one,  the 
Church  is  still  His  image  as  at  the  first,  pure  and 
spotless.  His  spouse  all  glorious  within,  the  Mother 
of  Saints ;  according  to  the  Scripture,  "  My  dove. 
My  undefiled  is  but  one ;  she  is  the  only  one  of  her 
mother,  she  is  the  elect  one  of  her  that  bare  her  .... 
Thou  art  all  fair.  My  love;  there  is  no  spot  in  thee  \" 

And  what  is  true  of  the  Church  as  a  whole,  is 

'  Cant.  vi.  9  ;  iv.  7. 


VIII.]   THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.    103 

represented  in  Scripture  as  belonging  also  in  some 
sense  to  each  individual  in  it.  I  mean,  that  as  the 
Christian  body  was  set  up  in  the  image  of  Christ, 
which  is  gradually  and  in  due  season  to  be  realized 
within  it,  so  in  like  manner  each  of  us,  when  made 
a  Christian,  is  entrusted  with  gifts,  which  centre  in 
eternal  salvation.  St.  Peter  says,  we  are  "  saved" 
through  baptism ;  St.  Paul,  that  we  are  "  saved 
according  to  God's  mercy  by  the  washing  of  rege- 
neration ;"  our  Lord  joins  together  water  and  the 
Spirit ;  St.  Paul  connects  baptism  with  putting  on 
Christ ;  and  in  another  place  with  being  "  sanctified 
and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by 
the  Spirit  of  our  God  \"  To  the  same  purport  are 
our  Lord's  words  ;  "  He  that  heareth  My  word,  and 
believeth  on  Him  that  sent  Me,  hath  everlasting 
life,  and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is 
passed  from  death  unto  life  ^." 

These  remarks  have  been  made  with  a  view  of 
showing  the  true  sense  in  which  we  must  receive, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  prophetic  descriptions  of  the 
Christian  Church;  on  the  other,  the  grant  of  its 
privileges,  and  of  those  of  its  separate  members. 
Nothing  is  more  counter  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel 
than  to  hunger  after  signs  and  wonders ;  and  the  rule 
of  Scripture  interpretation  now  given,  is  especially 

'  lPet.iii.  21.  Tit.  iii.  5.   Johniii.  5.  Gal.iii.  27.    1  Cor.vi.  U. 
»  John  V.  24. 


104  THE  EPIPHANY.  [Seem. 

adapted  to  wean  us  from  such  wandering  of  heart. 
It  is  our  duty,  rather  it  is  our  blessedness,  to  walk 
by  faith ;  therefore,  we  will  take  the  promises  (with 
God's  help)  in  faith ;  we  will  believe  they  are  ful- 
filled, and  enjoy  the  fruit  of  them  before  we  see  it. 
We  will  fully  acknowledge,  as  being  firmly  per- 
suaded, that  His  word  cannot  return  unto  Him 
void ;  that  it  has  its  mission,  and  must  prosper  so 
far  as  substantially  to  accomplish  it.  We  will 
adore  the  Blessed  Spirit,  as  coming  and  going  as 
He  listeth,  and  doing  wonders  daily  which  the 
world  knows  not  of.  We  will  consider  Baptism 
and  the  other  Christian  Ordinances,  effectual  signs 
of  grace,  not  forms  and  shadows,  though  men 
abuse  and  profane  them ;  and  particularly,  as  re- 
gards our  immediate  subject,  we  will  unlearn,  as 
sober  and  serious  men,  the  expectation  of  any  public 
displays  of  God's  glory  in  the  edification  of  His 
Church,  seeing  she  is  all  glorious  within,  in  that 
inward  shrine,  made  up  of  faithful  hearts,  and  in- 
habited by  the  Spirit  of  grace.  We  will  put  off,  so 
be  it,  all  secular,  all  political  views  of  the  victories 
of  His  kingdom.  While  labouring  to  unite  its  frag- 
ments, which  the  malice  of  Satan  has  scattered  to 
and  fro,  to  recover  what  is  cast  away,  to  purify 
what  is  corrupted,  to  strengthen  what  is  weak,  to 
make  it  in  all  its  parts  what  Christ  would  have  it, 
a  Church  Militant,  still  {please  God)  we  will  not 
reckon  on  any  visible  fruit  of  our  labour.  We  will 
be  content  to  believe  our  cause  triumphant,  when 


VIII.]   THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.    105 

we  see  it  apparently  defeated.  We  will  silently 
bear  the  insults  of  the  enemies  of  Christ,  and 
resign  ourselves  meekly  to  the  shame  and  suffering 
which  the  errors  of  His  followers  bring  upon  us. 
We  will  endure  offences  which  the  early  Saints 
would  have  marvelled  at,  and  Martyrs  would  have 
died  to  redress.  We  will  work  with  zeal,  but  as  to 
the  Lord  and  not  to  men ;  recollecting  that  even 
Apostles  saw  the  sins  of  the  Churches  they  planted ; 
that  St.  Paul  predicted  that  "  evil  men  and  seducers 
would  wax  worse  and  worse ;"  and  that  St.  John 
seems  even  to  consider  extraordinary  unbelief  as 
the  very  sign  of  the  times  of  the  Gospel,  as  if  the 
light  increased  the  darkness  of  those  who  hated  it. 
"  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time;  and  as  ye 
have  heard  that  Antichrist  shall  come,  even  now 
are  there  many  Antichrists,  whereby  we  know  that 
it  is  the  last  time  \" 

Therefore  we  will  seek  within  for  the  Epiphany 
of  Christ.  We  will  look  towards  His  holy  Altar, 
and  approach  it  for  the  fire  of  love  and  purity 
which  there  burns.  We  will  find  comfort  in  the 
illumination  which  Baptism  gives.  We  will  rest 
and  be  satisfied  in  His  ordinances  and  in  His  word. 
We  will  bless  and  praise  His  name,  whenever  He 
vouchsafes  to  display  His  glory  to  us  in  the  chance- 
meeting  of  any  of  His  Saints,  and  we  will  ever  pray 
Him  to  manifest  it  in  our  own  souls. 

'  2  Tim.  Hi.  13.     1  John  ii.  18. 


SERMON    IX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

HIS    CONVERSION   VIEWED   IN    REFERENCE   TO    HIS 
OFFICE. 


I  '   1  Cor.  XV.  9,  10. 

I  am  the  least  of  the  Apostles,  that  am  not  meet  to  be  called  an 
Apostle,  because  I  persecuted  the  Church  of  God.  But  by 
the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am  :  and  His  grace  which  was 
bestowed  upon  me  was  not  in  vain ;  but  I  laboured  more 
abundantly  than  they  all  :  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
which  was  with  me. 

To-day  we  commemorate,  not  the  whole  History 
of  St.  Paul,  nor  his  Martyrdom,  but  his  wonderful 
Conversion.  Every  season  of  his  life  is  full  of 
wonders,  and  admits  of  a  separate  commemora- 
tion ;  which  indeed  we  do  make,  whenever  we  read 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  or  his  Epistles.  On  this 
his  day,  however,  that  event  is  selected  for  remem- 
brance, which  was  the  beginning  of  his  wonderful 
course ;  and  we  may  profitably  pursue  (please  God) 
the  train  of  thought  thus  opened  for  us. 

We  cannot  well  forget  the  manner  of  his  conver- 
sion.    He  was  journeying  to  Damascus  with  autho- 

1 


Sebm.  IX.]        THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL.  107 

rity  from  the  chief  priests  to  seize  the  Christians, 
and  bring  them  to  Jerusalem.  He  had  sided  with 
the  persecuting  party  from  their  first  act  of  violence, 
the  martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen ;  and  he  continued 
foremost  in  a  bad  cause,  with  blind  rage  endea- 
vouring to  defeat  what  really  was  the  work  of 
Divine  power  and  wisdom.  In  the  midst  of  his 
fury,  he  was  struck  down  by  miracle,  and  con- 
verted to  the  faith  he  persecuted.  Observe  the 
circumstances  of  the  case.  When  the  blood  of 
Stephen  was  shed,  Saul,  then  a  young  man,  was 
standing  by,  "  consenting  unto  his  death,"  and 
"  kept  the  raiment  of  them  that  slew  him  \"  Two 
speeches  are  recorded  of  the  Martyr  in  his  last 
moments ;  one,  in  which  he  prayed  that  God  would 
pardon  his  murderers, — the  other  his  witness,  that 
he  saw  the  heavens  opened,  and  Jesus  on  God's 
right  hand.  His  prayer  was  wonderfully  answered. 
Stephen  saw  his  Saviour;  the  next  vision  of  that 
Saviour  to  mortal  man  was  vouchsafed  to  the  very 
young  man,  even  Saul,  who  shared  in  his  murder 
and  his  intercession. 

Strange,  indeed,  it  was ;  and  what  would  have 
been  St.  Stephen's  thoughts  could  he  have  known 
it !  The  prayers  of  righteous  men  avail  much. 
The  first  Martyr  had  power  with  God  to  raise  up 
the  greatest  Apostle.  Such  was  the  honor  put  upon 
the  first  fruits  of  those  sufferings,  upon  which  the 

'  Acts  xxii.  20. 


108  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL  [Serm. 

Church  was  entering.  Thus  from  the  beginning 
the  blood  of  the  Martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the 
Church.  Stephen,  one  man,  was  put  to  death 
for  saying  that  the  Jewish  people  were  to  have 
exclusive  privileges  no  longer ;  but  from  his  very 
grave  rose  the  favoured  instrument  by  whom  the 
thousands  and  ten  thousands  of  the  Gentiles  were 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth  ! 

1.  Herein  then,  first,  is  St.  Paul's  conversion 
memorable  ;  that  it  was  a  triumph  over  the  enemy. 
When  Almighty  God  would  convert  the  world, 
opening  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles,  who 
was  the  chosen  preacher  of  His  mercy  ?  Not  one 
of  Christ's  first  followers.  To  show  His  power.  He 
put  forth  his  hand  into  the  very  midst  of  the  per- 
secutors of  His  Son,  and  seized  upon  the  most 
strenuous  among  them.  The  prayer  of  a  dying 
man  is  the  token  and  occasion  of  his  triumph 
which  He  had  reserved  for  Himself.  His  strength 
is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  As  of  old.  He  broke 
the  yoke  of  His  people's  burden,  the  staif  of  their 
shoulder,  the  rod  of  their  oppressor  \  Saul  made 
furiously  for  Damascus,  but  the  Lord  Almighty 
"  knew  his  abode,  and  his  going  out  and  coming 
in,  and  his  rage  against  Him ;"  and  "  because  his 
rage  against  Him,  and  his  tumult  came  up  before 
Him,"  therefore  as  in  Sennacherib's  case,  though  in 
a  far  different  way.  He  "  put  His  hook  in  his  nose, 

^  Tsa.  ix.  4. 


IX.]      VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.        109 

and  His  bridle  in  his  lips,  and  turned  him  back  by 
the  way  by  which  he  came  \"  "  He  spoiled  prin- 
cipalities and  powers,  and  made  a  show  of  them 
openly  ^"  triumphing  over  the  serpent's  head  while 
his  heel  was  wounded.  Saul,  the  persecutor,  was  con- 
verted, and  preached  Christ  in  the  synagogues. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  St.  Paul's  conversion  may 
be  considered  as  a  suitable  introduction  to  the 
office  he  was  called  to  execute  in  God's  provi- 
dence. I  have  said  it  was  a  triumph  over  the 
enemies  of  Christ ;  but  it  was  also  an  expressive 
emblem  of  the  nature  of  God's  general  dealings 
with  the  race  of  man.  What  are  we  all  but  rebels 
against  God,  and  enemies  of  the  Truth  ?  what  were 
the  Gentiles  in  particular  at  that  time,  but  "  alien- 
ated" from  Him,  "  and  enemies  in  their  mind  by 
wicked  works  ^  ?"  Who  then  could  so  appropriately 
fulfil  the  purpose  of  Him  who  came  to  call  sinners 
to  repentance,  as  one  who  esteemed  himself  the 
least  of  the  Apostles,  that  was  not  meet  to  be 
called  an  Apostle,  because  he  had  persecuted  the 
Church  of  God  ?  When  Almighty  God  in  His 
infinite  mercy  purposed  to  form  a  people  to  Him- 
self out  of  the  heathen,  as  vessels  for  glory,  first  He 
chose  the  instrument  of  this  His  purpose,  as  a  brand 
from  the  burning,  to  be  a  type  of  the  rest.  There 
is  a  parallel  to  this  order  of  Providence  in  the  Old 


'  Isa,  xxxvii.  28,  29.  *  Col.  ii.  15. 

»  Col.  i.  21. 


110  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL  [Serm. 

Testament.  The  Jews  were  bid  to  look  unto  the 
rock  whence  they  were  hewn\  Who  was  the 
especial  Patriarch  of  their  nation  ? — Jacob.  Abra- 
ham himself,  indeed,  had  been  called  and  blessed 
by  God's  mere  grace.  Yet  Abraham  had  remark- 
able faith.  Jacob,  however,  the  immediate  and 
peculiar  Patriarch  of  the  Jewish  race,  is  repre- 
sented in  the  character  of  a  sinner,  pardoned  and 
reclaimed  by  Divine  mercy,  a  wanderer  exalted  to 
be  the  father  of  a  great  nation.  Now  I  am  not 
venturing  to  describe  him  as  he  really  was,  but  as 
he  is  represented  to  us ;  not  personally,  but  in  that 
particular  point  of  view  in  which  the  sacred  history 
has  placed  him  ;  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  he  is 
typically,  or  in  the  way  of  doctrine.  There  is  no 
mistaking  the  marks  of  his  character  and  fortunes 
in  the  history^  designedly  (as  it  would  seem)  re- 
corded to  humble  Jewish  pride.  He  makes  his 
own  confession,  as  St.  Paul  afterwards ;  "  I  am  not 
worthy  of  the  least  of  all  Thy  mercies  ^"  Every 
year  too  the  Israelites  were  bid  bring  their  offer- 
ing, and  avow  before  God,  that  "  a  Syrian  ready 
to  perish  was  their  father'."  Such  as  was  the 
father,  such  (it  was  reasonable  to  suppose)  would 
be  the  descendants.  None  would  be  "  greater  than 
their  father  Jacob  V  for  whose  sake  the  nation  was 
blest. 

'  Isa.  li.  1.  *  Gen.  xxxii.  tO. 

'  Deut.  xxvi.  5.  *  John  iv.  12. 


IX.]      VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.         HI 

In  like  manner  St.  Paul  is,  in  one  way  of  viewing 
the  Dispensation,  the  spiritual  father  of  the  Gentiles ; 
and  in  the  history  of  his  sin  and  its  most  gracious 
forgiveness,  he  exemplifies  far  more  than  his  bro- 
ther Apostles  his  own  Gospel ;  that  we  are  all 
guilty  before  God,  and  can  be  saved  only  by  His 
free  bounty.  In  his  own  words,  "  for  this  cause 
obtained  he  mercy,  that  in  him  first  Jesus  Christ 
might  show  forth  all  long-suffering  for  a  pattern  to 
them  which  should  hereafter  believe  on  Him  to 
life  everlasting  \" 

3.  And,  in  the  next  place,  St.  Paul's  previous 
course  of  life  rendered  him,  perhaps,  after  his  con- 
version, more  fit  an  instrument  of  God's  purposes 
towards  the  Gentiles,  as  well  as  a  more  striking 
specimen  of  it.  Here  it  is  necessary  to  speak  with 
caution.  We  know  that,  whatever  were  St.  Paul's 
successes  in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel,  they  were 
in  their  source  and  nature  not  his,  but  through  "  the 
grace  of  God  which  was  with  him."  Still,  God  makes 
use  of  human  means,  and  it  is  allowable  to  inquire 
reverently  what  these  were,  and  why  St.  Paul  was 
employed  to  convert  the  Heathen  world  rather  than 
St.  James  the  Less,  or  St.  John.  Doubtless  his  intel- 
lectual endowments  and  acquirements  were  among 
the  circumstances  which  fitted  him  for  his  oflSce.  Yet, 
may  it  not  be  supposed  that  there  was  something 
in  his  previous  religious  history,  which  especially 

*  1  Tim.  i.  16. 


112  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL  [Seum. 

disciplined  him  to  be  "  all  things  to  all  men  ?" 
Nothing  is  so  difficult  as  to  enter  into  the  charac- 
ters and  feelings  of  men  who  have  been  brought  up 
under  a  system  of  religion  different  from  our  own ; 
and  to  discern  how  they  may  be  most  forcibly  and 
profitably  addressed,  in  order  to  win  them  over  to 
the  reception  of  Divine  truths,  of  which  they  are 
at  present  ignorant.  Now  St.  Paul  had  had  ex- 
perience in  his  own  case,  of  a  state  of  mind  very 
different  from  that  which  belonged  to  him  as  an 
Apostle.  Though  he  had  never  been  polluted 
with  Heathen  immorality  and  profaneness,  he  had 
entertained  views  and  sentiments  very  far  from 
Christian ;  and  had  experienced  a  conversion  to 
which  the  other  Apostles  (as  far  as  we  know)  were 
strangers.  I  am  far  indeed  from  meaning  that 
there  is  ought  favourable  to  a  man's  after  religion 
in  an  actual  unsettling  of  principle,  in  lapsing  into 
infidelity,  and  then  returning  again  to  religious 
belief.  This  was  not  St.  Paul's  case;  he  under- 
went no  radical  change  of  religious  principle.  Much 
less  would  I  give  countenance  to  the  notion,  that  a 
previous  immoral  life  is  other  than  a  grievous  per- 
manent hindrance  and  a  curse  to  a  man,  after  he 
has  turned  to  God.  Such  considerations,  however, 
are  out  of  place,  in  speaking  of  St.  Paul.  What 
I  mean  is,  that  his  awful  rashness  and  blindness, 
his  self-confident,  headstrong,  cruel  rage,  against 
the  worshippers  of  the  true  Messiah,  then  his 
strange  conversion,  then  the  length  of  time   that 


IX.]      VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.        113 

elapsed  before  his  solemn  ordination,  during  which 
he  was  left  to  meditate  in  private  on  all  that  had 
happened,  and  to  anticipate  the  future,  all  this 
constituted  a  peculiar  preparation  for  the  office  of 
preaching  to  a  lost  world,  dead  in  sin.  It  gave 
him  an  extended  insight,  on  the  one  hand,  into  the 
ways  and  designs  of  Providence,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  into  the  workings  of  sin  in  the  human  heart, 
and  the  various  modes  of  thinking  to  which  the 
mind  may  be  trained.  It  taught  him  not  to  despair 
of  the  worst  sinners,  to  be  sharp-sighted  in  defect- 
ing the  sparks  of  faith,  amid  corrupt  habits  of  life, 
and  to  enter  into  the  various  temptations  to  which 
human  nature  is  exposed.  It  wrought  in  him  a 
profound  humility,  which  disposed  him  (if  we  may 
say  so)  to  bear  meekly  the  abundance  of  the  reve- 
lations given  him ;  and  it  imparted  to  him  a  prac- 
tical wisdom  how  to  apply  them  to  the  conversion 
of  others,  so  as  to  be  weak  with  the  weak,  and 
strong  with  the  strong,  to  bear  their  burdens,  to  in- 
struct and  encourage  them,  to  "  strengthen  his 
brethren,"  to  rejoice  and  weep  with  them,  in  a 
word,  to  be  an  earthly  Paraclete,  the  comforter,  CtA.^-*^^*''^ 
help,  and  guide  of  his  brethren.     It  gave  him  to  • 

know  in  some  good  measure  the  hearts  of  men ;  an 
attribute  (in  its  fulness)  belonging  to  God  alone, 
and  possessed  by  Him  in  union  with  perfect  purity 
from  all  sin ;  but  which  in  us  can  scarcely  exist 
without  our  own  melancholy  experience,  in  some 
degree,  of  moral  evil  in  ourselves,  since  the   inno- 

VOL.  II.  I 


114  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL.  [Serm. 

cent  (it  is  their  privilege,)  have  not  eaten  of  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

4.  Lastly,  to  guard  against  misconception  of  these 
last  remarks,  I  must  speak  distinctly  on  a  part  of 
the  subject  only  touched  upon  hitherto,  viz.  on  St. 
Paul's  spiritual  state  before  his  conversion.  For,  in 
spite  of  what  has  been  said  by  way  of  caution,  per- 
haps I  may  still  be  supposed  to  warrant  the  maxim 
sometimes  maintained,  that  the  greater  sinner  makes 
the  greater  saint. 

Now,  observe,  I  do  not  allege  that  St.  Paul's 
previous  sins  made  him  a  more  spiritual  Christian 
afterwards,  but  rendered  him  more  fitted  for  a  par- 
ticular purpose  in  God's  providence, — more  fitted, 
when  converted,  to  reclaim  others ;  just  as  a  know- 
ledge of  languages,  (whether  divinely  or  humanly 
acquired,)  fits  a  man  for  the  ofiice  of  missionary, 
without  tending  in  any  degree  to  make  him  a  better 
man.  I  merely  say,  that  if  we  take  two  men  equally 
advanced  in  faith  and  holiness,  that  one  of  the  two 
would  preach  to  a  variety  of  men  with  the  greater 
success,  who  had  the  greater  experience  in  his  own 
religious  history  of  temptation,  the  war  of  flesh  and 
spirit,  sin,  and  victory  over  sin  ;  though  at  the  same 
time,  at  first  sight  it  is  of  course  unlikely  that  he 
who  had  experienced  all  these  changes  of  mind 
should  be  equal  in  faith  and  obedience  to  the  other 
who  had  served  God  from  a  child. 

But,  in  the  next  place,  let  us  observe,  how  very 
far  St.  Paul's  conversion  is,  in  matter  of  fact,  from 


IX.]      VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.        115 

holding  out  any  encouragement  to  those  who  live 
in  sin,  or  any  self-satisfaction  to  those  who  have  lived 
in  it ;  as  if  their  present  or  former  disobedience  could 
be  a  gain  to  them. 

Why  was  mercy  shown  to  Saul  the  persecutor  ? 
he  himself  gives  us  the  reason,  which  w^e  may 
safely  make  use  of.  "  I  obtained  mercy,  because  I 
did  it  ignorantly  in  unbelief."  And  why  was  he 
"  enabled"  to  preach  the  Gospel  ?  "  Because  Christ 
counted  him  faithful."  We  have  here  the  reason 
more  clearly  stated  even  than  in  Abraham's  case, 
who  was  honoured  with  special  Divine  revelations, 
and  promised  a  name  on  the  earth,  because  God 
"  knew  him,  that  he  would  command  his  children 
and  his  household  after  him,  to  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgment  ^"  Saul  was  ever 
faithful,  according  to  his  notion  of  "  the  way  of  the 
Lord."  Doubtless  he  sinned  deeply  and  grievously 
in  persecuting  the  followers  of  Christ.  Had  he 
known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he  never  would  have 
done  so  ;  he  would  have  recognized  Jesus  to  be  the 
promised  Saviour,  as  Simeon  and  Anna  had,  from 
the  first.  But  he  was  bred  up  in  a  human  school, 
and  paid  more  attention  to  the  writings  of  men 
than  to  the  word  of  God.  Still,  observe,  he  dif- 
fered from  other  enemies  of  Christ  in  this,  that  he 
kept  a  clear  conscience,  and  habitually  obeyed  God 
according  to  his  knowledge.     God  speaks  to  us  in 

'  1  Tim.  i.  12,  13.  »  Gen.  xviii.  19. 

i2 


116  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL.  [Serm. 

two  ways,  in  our  hearts  and  in  his  word.  The 
latter  and  clearer  of  these  informants  St.  Paul  knew 
little  of;  the  former  he  could  not  but  know  in  his 
measure,  (for  it  was  within  him,)  and  he  obeyed  it. 
That  inward  voice  was  but  feeble,  mixed  up  and 
obscured  with  human  feelings  and  human  tradi- 
tions ;  so  that  what  his  conscience  told  him  to  do, 
was  but  partially  true,  and  in  part  was  wrong.  Yet 
still,  believing  it  to  speak  God's  will,  he  deferred 
to  it,  acting  as  he  did  afterwards  when  he  "was 
not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision,"  which  in- 
formed him  Jesus  was  the  Christ  \  Hear  his  own 
account  of  himself: — "  I  have  lived  in  all  good 
conscience  before  God  until  this  day."  "  After  the 
most  straitest  sect  of  our  religion,  I  lived  a  Pha- 
risee." "  Touching  the  righteousness  which  is  in 
the  Law,  blameless  ^"  Here  is  no  ease,  no  self- 
indulgent  habits,  no  wilful  sin  against  the  light, — 
nay,  I  will  say  no  pride.  That  is,  though  he  was 
doubtless  influenced  by  much  sinful  self-confidence, 
in  his  violent  and  bigoted  hatred  of  the  Christians, 
and  though  (as  well  as  even  the  best  of  us)  he  was 
doubtless  liable  to  the  occasional  temptations  and 
defilements  of  pride,  yet,  taking  pride  to  mean  open 
rebellion  against  God,  warring  against  God's  autho- 
rity, setting  up  reason  against  God,  this  he  had  not. 
He  "  verily  thought  within  himself  that  he  ought  to 
do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth."     Turn  to  the  case  of  Jews  and  Gentiles 

'  Acts  xxvi.  19.         *  Acts  xxiii.  1.  xxvi.  5.     Phil.  iii.  6. 


IX.]        VIEWED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  OFFICE.      117 

who  remained  unconverted,  and  you  will  see  the 
difference  between  them  and  him.  Think  of  the 
hypocritical  Pharisees,  who  professed  to  be  saints, 
and  were  sinners ;  "  full  of  extortion,  excess,  and 
uncleanness  ' ;"  believing  Jesus  to  be  the  Christ, 
but  not  confessing  Him,  as  "  loving  the  praise  of 
men  more  than  the  praise  of  God^"  St.  Paul 
himself  gives  us  an  account  of  them  in  the  second 
chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Can  it  be 
made  to  apply  to  his  own  previous  state  ?  Was  the 
name  of  God  blasphemed  among  the  Gentiles 
through  him? — On  the  other  hand,  the  Gentile 
reasoners  sought  a  vain  wisdom  ^.  These  were  they 
who  despised  religion  and  practical  morality  as  com- 
mon matters,  unworthy  the  occupation  of  a  refined 
and  cultivated  intellect.  "  Some  mocked,  others 
said,  we  will  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter  *."  They 
prided  themselves  on  being  above  vulgar  prejudices, 
— in  being  indifferent  to  the  traditions  afloat  in  the 
world  about  another  life, — in  regarding  all  religions 
as  equally  true  and  equally  false.  Such  a  hard, 
vain-glorious  temper  our  Lord  solemnly  condemns, 
when  he  says  to  the  Church  at  Laodicea,  "  I  would 
thou  wert  cold  or  hot." 

The  Pharisees,  then,  were  breakers  of  the  Law ; 
the  Gentile  reasoners  and  statesmen  were  infidels. 
Both  were  proud,  both  despised  the  voice  of  con- 
science. We  see,  then,  from  this  review,  the  kind 
of  sin  which  God  pities  and  pardons.     All  sin,  in- 

'  Matt,  xxiii.  25.  27.  '  John  xii.  43. 

'  1  Cor.  i.  22.  *  Acts  xvii.  32. 


118  THE  CONVERSION  OF  ST.  PAUL.        [Serm.  IX. 

deed,  when  repented  of,  He  will  put  away;  but 
pride  hardens  the  heart  against  repentance,  and 
sensuality  debases  it  to  a  brutal  nature.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  quenched  by  open  transgressions  of  con- 
science and  contempt  of  His  authority.  But,  when 
men  err  in  ignorance,  following  closely  their  own 
notions  of  right  and  wrong,  though  these  notions 
are  mistaken, — great  as  is  their  sin,  if  they  might 
have  possessed  themselves  of  truer  notions, — (and 
very  great  as  was  St.  Paul's  sin,  because  he  cer- 
tainly might  have  learned  from  the  Old  Testament 
far  clearer  and  diviner  doctrine  than  the  tradition 
of  the  Pharisees,)  yet  such  men  are  not  left  by  the 
God  of  all  grace.  God  leads  them  on  to  the  light, 
in  spite  of  their  errors  in  faith,  if  they  continue 
strictly  to  obey  what  they  believe  to  be  His  will. 
And,  to  declare  this  comfortable  truth  to  us,  St. 
Paul  was  thus  carried  on  by  the  Providence  of  God, 
and  brought  into  the  light  by  miracle;  that  we 
may  learn,  by  a  memorable  instance  of  His  gi'ace, 
what  He  ever  does,  though  He  does  not  in  ordinary 
cases  thus  declare  it  openly  to  the  world. 

Who  has  not  felt  a  fear  lest  he  be  wandering  from 
the  true  doctrine  of  Christ  ?  Let  him  cherish  and 
obey  the  holy  light  of  conscience  within  him,  as 
Saul  did  ;  let  him  carefully  study  the  Scriptures,  as 
Saul  did  not ;  and  the  God  who  had  mercy  even  on 
the  persecutor  of  His  saints,  will  assuredly  shed  His 
grace  upon  him,  and  bring  him  into  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus.  o  <^  r-      ^  ^  . 


SERMON  X. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

SECRECY  AND  SUDDENNESS  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS. 


Luke  xviii.  20. 
The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation. 

We  commemorate  on  this  day  the  Presentation  of 
Christ  in  the  Temple,  according  to  the  injunction  of 
the  Mosaic  Law,  as  laid  down  in  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Exodus  and  the  twelfth  of 
Leviticus.  When  the  Israelites  were  brought  out  of 
Egypt,  the  first-bom  of  the  Eg3rptians  (as  we  all 
know)  were  visited  by  death,  "  from  the  first-bom  of 
Pharaoh  that  sat  on  his  throne,  unto  the  first-born 
of  the  captive  that  was  in  the  dungeon ;  and  all  the 
first-born  of  cattle '."  Accordingly,  in  thankful  re- 
membrance of  this  destruction,  and  their  own  deli- 
verance, every  male  among  the  Israelites,  who  was 
the  first-bom  of  his  mother,  was  dedicated  to  God ; 
likewise,  every  first-born  of  cattle.  Afterwards,  the 
Levites  were  taken,  as  God's  peculiar  possession^ 

^  Exod.  xii.  29, 


120      PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Skhm. 

instead  of  the  first-born ' ;  but  still  the  first-born 
were  solemnly  brought  to  the  Temple  at  a  certain 
time  from  their  birth,  presented  to  God,  and  then 
redeemed  or  bought  off  at  a  certain  price.  At  the 
same  time  certain  sacrifices  were  offered  for  the 
mother,  in  order  to  her  purification  after  childbirth ; 
and  therefore  to-day's  Feast,  in  memory  of  Christ's 
Presentation  in  the  Temple,  is  commonly  called  the 
Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

Our  Saviour  was  born  without  sin.  His  Mother, 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  need  have  made  no  offer- 
ing, as  requiring  no  purification.  On  the  contrary, 
it  was  that  very  birth  of  the  Son  of  God  which  sanc- 
tified the  whole  race  of  woman,  and  turned  her 
curse  into  a  blessing.  Nevertheless,  as  Christ  Him- 
self was  minded  to  "  fulfil  all  righteousness,"  to  obey 
all  the  ordinances  of  the  covenant  under  which  He 
was  born,  so  in  like  manner  his  Mother  Mary 
submitted  to  the  Law,  in  order  to  do  it  reverence.  fK 

This  then  is  the  event  in  our  Saviour's  infancy, 
which  we  this  day  celebrate ;  His  presentation  in 
the  Temple,  when  His  Virgin  Mother  was  ceremo- 
nially purified.  It  was  made  memorable  at  the 
time  by  the  hymns  and  praises  of  Simeon  and 
Anna,  to  whom  He  was  then  revealed.  And  there 
were  others,  besides  these,  who  had  been  "  looking 
for  redemption  in  Jerusalem,"  who  were  also 
vouchsafed  a  sight  of  the  Infant  Saviour.  But  the 
chief  importance  of  this  event  consists  in  its  being 

r'  Numb.  iii.  12,  13. 


X.]  SECRECY  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS.  121 

a  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Malaelii  had  announced 
the  Lord's  \isitation  of  His  Temple  in  these  words, 
"  The  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to 
His  Temple  ' ;"  words  which,  though  variously  ful- 
filled during  His  Ministry,  had  their  first  accom- 
plishment in  the  humble  ceremony  commemorated 
on  this  day.  And,  when  we  consider  the  gran- 
deur of  the  prediction,  and  how  unostentatious  this 
accomplishment  was,  we  are  led  to  muse  upon  God's 
ways,  and  to  draw  useful  lessons  for  ourselves.  This 
is  the  reflection  which  I  propose  to  make  upon  the 
subject  of  this  Festival. 

I  say,  we  are  to-day  reminded  of  the  noiseless 
course  of  God's  providence,  His  tranquil  accom- 
plishment, in  the  course  of  nature,  of  great  events 
long  designed ;  and  again,  the  suddenness  and  still- 
ness of  His  visitations.  Consider  what  the  occur- 
rence in  question  consists  in.  A  little  child  is 
brought  to  the  Temple,  as  all  first-born  children 
were  brought.  There  is  nothing  here  uncommon 
or  striking,  so  far.  His  parents  are  with  him,  poor 
people,  bringing  the  offering  of  pigeons  or  doves, 
for  the  purification  of  the  mother.  They  are  met 
in  the  Temple  by  an  old  man,  who  takes  the  child 
in  his  arms,  offers  a  thanksgiving  to  God,  and 
blesses  the  parents;  and  next  are  joined  by  a 
woman  of  a  great  age,  a  widow  of  eighty-four  years, 
who  had  exceeded  the  time  of  useful  service,  and 

•  Mai.  iii.  1. 


12^2    PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Sehm. 

seemed  to  be  but  a  fit  prey  for  death.  She  gives 
thanks  also,  and  speaks  concerning  the  child  to 
other  persons  who  are  present.     Then  all  retire. 

Now,  there  is  evidently  nothing  great  or  impres- 
sive in  this ;  nothing  to  excite  the  feelings,  or  in- 
terest the  imagination.  We  know  what  the  world 
thinks  of  such  a  groupe  as  I  have  described.  The 
weak  and  helpless,  whether  from  age  or  infancy, 
it  looks  upon  negligently  and  passes  by.  Yet  all 
this  that  happened  was  really  the  solemn  fulfilment 
of  an  ancient  and  emphatic  prophecy.  The  infant 
in  arms  was  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  the  rightful 
heir,  come  in  disguise  of  a  stranger  to  visit  His  own 
house.  The  Scripture  had  said,  "  The  Lord  whom 
you  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  Temple,  but 
who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming,  and  who 
may  stand  when  he  appeareth?"  He  had  now 
taken  possession.  And  further,  the  old  man,  who 
took  the  child  in  his  arms,  had  upon  him  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  had  been  promised  the  blessed 
sight  of  his  Lord  before  his  death,  came  into  the 
Temple  by  heavenly  guidance,  and  now  had  within 
him  thoughts  unutterable,  of  joy,  thankfulness,  and 
hope,  strangely  mixed  with  awe,  fear,  painful 
wonder,  and  "  bitterness  of  spirit."  Anna  too,  the 
woman  of  fourscore  and  four  years,  was  a  pro- 
phetess ;  and  the  bystanders,  to  whom  she  spoke, 
were  the  true  Israel,  who  were  looking  out  in  faith 
for  the  predicted  redemption  of  mankind,  those  who 
(in  the  words  of  the  prophecy,)  "  sought"  and  in 


X.]  SECRECY  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS.  123 

prospect  "  delighted"  in  the  "  Messenger"  of  God's 
covenant  of  mercy.  "  The  glory  of  this  latter  House 
shall  be  greater  than  of  the  former  S"  was  the  an- 
nouncement of  another  prophecy.  Behold  the  glory  ! 
a  little  child  and  his  parents,  two  aged  persons,  and 
a  conofresration  without  name  or  memorial.  "  The 
Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation." 

Such  has  ever  been  the  manner  of  His  visitations, 
in  the  destruction  of  His  enemies  as  well  as  in  the 
deliverance  of  His  own  people ; — silent,  sudden,  un- 
foreseen, as  regards  the  world,  though  predicted  in 
the  face  of  all  men,  and  in  their  measure  compre- 
hended and  waited  for  by  His  true  Church.  Such 
a  visitation  was  the  flood;  Noah,  a  preacher  of 
righteousness,  but  the  multitude  of  sinners  judici- 
ally blinded.  "  They  did  eat,  they  drank,  they 
married  wives,  they  were  given  in  marriage,  until 
the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  Ark,  and  the  flood 
came  and  destroyed  them  all."  Such  was  the  over- 
throw of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  "  Likewise  as  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Lot ;  they  did  eat,  they  drank, 
they  bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they  builded ; 
but  the  same  day  that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom,  it 
rained  fire  and  brimstone  from  Heaven,  and  de- 
stroyed them  all  ^ ;"  Again,  "  The  horse  of  Pharaoh 
went  in  with  his  chariots  and  with  his  horsemen 
into  the  sea ;  and  the  Lord  brought  again  the  waters 
of  the  sea  upon  them  ^"     The  overthrow  of  Senna- 

•  Hagg.  ii.  9.         '  Luke  xvii.  27—29.  »  Exod.  xv.  19. 


124    PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Serm. 

cherib  was  also  silent  and  sudden,  when  his  vast 
army  least  expected  it ;  "  The  Angel  of  the  Lord 
went  forth,  and  smote  in  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians 
a  hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand  \"  Bel- 
shazzar  and  Babylon  were  surprised  in  the  midst  of 
the  king's  great  feast  to  his  thousand  lords.  While 
Nebuchadnezzar  boasted,  his  reason  was  suddenly 
taken  from  him.  While  the  multitude  shouted 
with  impious  flattery  at  Herod's  speech,  then  "  the 
Angel  of  the  Lord  smote  him,  because  he  gave  not 
God  the  glory  ^"  Whether  we  take  the  first  or  the 
final  judgment  upon  Jerusalem,  both  visitations 
were  foretold  as  sudden.  Of  the  former,  Isaiah 
had  declared  it  should  come  "  suddenly,  at  an 
instant  ^ ;"  of  the  latter,  Malachi,  "  The  Lord  whom 
ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  Temple."  And 
such  too  will  be  His  final  visitation  of  the  whole 
earth ;  men  will  be  at  their  work  in  the  city  and  in 
the  field,  and  it  will  overtake  them  like  a  thunder- 
cloud. "  Two  women  shall  be  grinding  together ; 
the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left.  Two 
men  shall  be  in  the  field ;  the  one  shall  be  taken 
and  the  other  left '." 

And  it  is  impossible  that  it  should  be  otherwise, 
in  spite  of  warnings  ever  so  clear,  considering  how 
the  world  goes  on  in  every  age.  Men,  who  are 
plunged  in  the  pursuits  of  active  life,  are  no 
judges  of  its  course  and  tendency  on  the  whole. 

'  Is.  xxxvii.  36.  ^  Acts  xii.  23. 

'  Is.  XXX.  13.  *  Luke  xvii.  35,  36. 


X]  SECRECY  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS.  125 

They  confuse  great  events  with  little,  and  measure 
the  importance  of  objects  as  in  perspective  by  the 
mere  standard  of  nearness  or  remoteness.  It  is 
only  at  a  distance  that  one  can  take  in  the  outlines 
and  features  of  a  whole  country.  It  is  but  holy 
Daniel,  solitary  among  princes,  or  Elijah  the  recluse 
of  Mount  Carmel,  who  can  withstand  Baal,  or  fore- 
cast the  time  of  God's  providences  among  the  na- 
tions. To  the  multitude  all  things  continue  to  the 
end,  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion. The  business  of  state  affairs,  the  movements 
of  society,  the  course  of  nature,  proceed  as  ever, 
till  the  moment  of  Christ's  coming.  "  The  sun 
was  risen  upon  the  earth,"  bright  as  usual,  on 
that  very  day  of  wTath  in  which  Sodom  was  de- 
stroyed. Men  cannot  believe  their  own  time  is  an 
especially  wicked  time;  for,  with  Scripture  unstudied 
and  hearts  untrained  in  holiness,  they  have  no 
standard  to  compare  it  with.  They  take  warning 
from  no  troubles,  or  perplexities ;  which  rather 
carry  them  away  to  search  out  the  earthly  causes  of 
them,  and  the  possible  remedies.  They  consider 
them  as  conditions  of  this  world,  necessary  results 
of  this  or  that  state  of  society.  When  the  power 
of  Assyria  became  great,  (we  might  suppose)  the 
Jews  had  a  plain  call  to  repentance.  Far  from 
it ;  they  were  led  to  set  power  against  power,  they 
took  refuge  against  Assyria  in  Egypt  their  old 
enemy.  Probably  they  reasoned  themselves  into 
what   they  considered    a   temperate,   enlightened, 


126    PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Sebm. 

cheerful  view  of  national  affairs;  perhaps  they 
might  consider  the  growth  of  Assyria  as  an  advan- 
tage rather  than  otherwise,  as  balancing  the  power 
of  Egypt,  and  so  tending  to  their  own  security. 
Certain  it  is,  we  find  them  connecting  themselves 
first  with  one  kingdom,  and  then  with  the  other,  as 
men  who  could  read  (as  they  thought)  "  the  signs 
of  the  times,"  and  made  some  pretences  to  political 
wisdom.  Thus  the  world  proceeds  till  wrath  comes 
upon  it,  and  there  is  no  escape.  "  To-morrow," 
they  say,  "  shall  be  as  this  day,  and  much  more 
abundant \" 

And  in  the  midst  of  this  their  revel,  whether  of 
sensual  pleasure,  or  of  ambition,  or  of  covetousness, 
or  of  pride  and  self-esteem,  the  decree  goes  forth 
to  destroy.  The  decree  goes  forth  in  secret ;  An- 
gels hear  it,  and  the  favoured  few  on  earth  ;  but  no 
public  event  takes  place  to  give  the  world  warning. 
The  earth  was  doomed  to  the  flood  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  before  "  the  decree  brought  forth  ^" 
or  men  heard  of  it.  The  waters  of  Babylon  had 
been  turned,  and  the  conqueror  was  marching  into 
the  city,  when  Belshazzar  made  his  great  feast. 
Pride  infatuates  man,  and  self-indulgence  and 
luxury  work  their  way  unseen, — like  some  smoul- 
dering fire,  which  for  a  while  leaves  the  outward 
form  of  things  unaltered.  At  length  the  decayed 
mass  cannot  hold  together,  and  breaks  by  its  own 

'  Is.  Ivi.  12.  »  Zeph.  ii.  2. 


X.]  SECRECY  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS.  127 

weight,  or  on  some  slight  and  accidental  external 
violence.  As  the  Prophet  says ;  "  This  iniquity- 
shall  be  to  you  as  a  breach  ready  to  fall,  swelling 
out  (or  bulging)  in  a  high  wall,  whose  breaking 
cometh  suddenly  at  an  instant"  The  same  inward 
corruption  of  a  nation  seems  to  be  meant  in  our 
Lord's  words,  when  He  says  of  Jerusalem ;  "  Where- 
soever the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be 
gathered  tgether  ^" 

Thoughts,  such  as  the  foregoing,  are  profitable 
at  all  times ;  for  in  every  age  the  world  is  profane 
and  blind,  and  God  hides  His  Providence,  yet  car- 
ries it  forward.  But  they  are  peculiarly  apposite 
now,  in  proportion  as  the  present  day  bears  upon  it 
more  marks  than  usual  of  pride  and  judicial  blind- 
ness. Whether  Christ  is  at  our  doors  or  not,  but  a 
few  men  in  England  may  have  grace  enough  safely 
to  conjecture ;  but  that  He  is  calling  upon  us  all  to 
prepare  as  for  His  coming,  is  most  evident  to  those 
who  have  religious  eyes  and  ears.  Let  us  then 
turn  this  Festival  to  account,  by  taking  it  as  the 
Memorial-day  of  His  visitations.  Let  us  from  the 
events  it  celebrates,  lay  up  deep  in  our  hearts  the 
recollection,  how  mysteriously  little  things  are  in 
this  world  connected  with  great,  how  single  mo- 
ments, improved  or  wasted,  are  the  salvation  or 
ruin  of  all-important  interests.  Let  us  bear  the 
thought   upon  us,   when  we   come   to   worship  in 

'  Matt.  xxiv.  28. 


128    PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.   [Serm. 

God's  House,  that  any  such  season  of  service  may, 
for  what  we  know,  be  wonderfully  connected  with 
some  ancient  purpose  of  His,  announced  before  we 
were  born,  and  have  its  determinate  bearing  on 
our  eternal  welfare;  let  us  fear  to  miss  the  Sa- 
viour, while  Simeon  and  Anna  find  Him.  Let  us 
remember  that  He  was  not  manifested  again  in 
the  Temple,  except  once,  for  thirty  years,  while  a 
whole  generation,  who  were  alive  at  His  first 
visitation,  died  off  in  the  interval.  Let  us  carry 
this  thought  into  our  daily  conduct;  considering 
that,  for  what  we  know,  our  hope  of  salvation  may 
in  the  event  materially  depend  on  our  avoiding 
this  or  that  momentary  sin.  And  further,  from 
the  occurrences  of  this  day,  let  us  take  comfort, 
when  we  despond  about  the  state  of  the  Church. 
Perhaps  we  see  not  God's  tokens ;  we  see  neither 
prophet  nor  teacher  remaining  to  His  people ; 
darkness  falls  over  the  earth,  and  no  protesting 
voice  is  heard.  Yet,  granting  things  to  be  at 
the  very  worst,  yet,  when  Christ  was  presented 
in  the  Temple,  the  age  knew  as  little  of  it,  as  it 
knows  of  His  Providence  now.  Rather,  the  worse 
our  condition  is,  the  nearer  to  us  is  the  Advent  of 
our  Deliverer.  Even  though  He  is  silent,  doubt 
not  that  His  army  is  on  the  march  towards  us. 
He  is  coming  through  the  sky,  and  has  even  now 
His  camp  upon  the  outskirts  of  our  own  world. 
Nay,  though  He  still  for  a  while  keep  His  seat 
at  His  Father's  right   hand,    yet  surely   He   sees 


X.]  SECRECY  OF  DIVINE  VISITATIONS.  129 

all  that  is  going  on,  and  waits  and  will  not  fail 
His  hour  of  vengeance.  Shall  He  not  hear  His 
own  elect,  when  they  cry  day  and  night  to  Him  ? 
His  Services  of  prayer  and  praise  continue,  and  are 
scorned  by  the  multitude.  Day  by  day,  Festival 
by  Festival,  Fast  after  Fast,  Season  by  Season, 
they  continue  according  to  His  ordinance  and  are 
scorned.  But  the  greater  His  delay,  the  heavier 
will  be  His  vengeance,  and  the  more  complete 
the  deliverance  of  His  people. 

May  the  good  Lord  save  His  Church,  in  this  her 
hour  of  peril ;  when  Satan  seeks  to  sap  and  corrupt 
where  he  dare  not  openly  assault !  May  He  raise 
up  instruments  of  His  grace,  "  not  ignorant"  of  the 
devices  of  the  Evil  One,  with  seeming  eyes,  and 
strong  hearts,  and  vigorous  arms  to  defend  the 
treasure  of  the  faith  once  committed  to  the  Saints, 
and  to  rouse  and  alarm  their  slumbering  brethren  ! 
"  For  Sion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and  for 
Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  the  righte- 
ousness thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  the  sal- 
vation thereof  as  a  lamp  that  burneth Ye 

that  make  mention  of  the  Lord,  keep  not  silence, 
and  give  him  no  rest,  till  He  establish,  and  till  He 
make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth  ....  Go 
through,  go  through  the  gates ;  prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  people,  cast  up,  cast  up  the  highway,  gather 
out  the  stones,  lift  up  the  standard  for  the  people  '.'* 

'  Is.  Ixii.  1.  6,  7.  10. 
VOL.  II.  K 


130   PURIFICATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.  [Serm.X. 

Thus  does  Almighty  God  address  His  "  watchmen 
on  the  walls  of  Jerusalem ;"  and  to  the  Church  her- 
self He  says,  to  our  great  comfort :  "  No  weapon 
that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper,  and  every 
tongue  that  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judgment, 
thou  shalt  condemn.  This  is  the  heritage  of  the 
servants  of  the  Lord,  and  their  righteousness  is  of 
Me,  saith  the  Lord^"  ■  ^  :  :> .  :■  -. 

'  Is.  liv.  17. 


SERMON    XL 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHIAS,  THE  APOSTLE. 
DIVINE  DECREES. 


Rev.  iii.  11. 
Hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown. 

This  is  the  only  Saint's-day  which  is  to  be  cele- 
brated with  mingled  feelings  of  joy  and  pain.  It 
records  the  fall,  as  well  as  the  election  of  an  Apostle. 
St.  Matthias  was  chosen  in  the  place  of  the  traitor 
Judas.  In  the  history  of  the  latter  we  have  the 
warning  recorded  in  very  deed  which  our  Lord  in 
the  next  gives  us  in  word,  "Hold  that  fast  which  thou 
hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown."  And  doubtless 
many  were  the  warnings  such  as  this,  addressed  by 
our  Lord  to  the  wretched  man  who  in  the  end  be- 
trayed him.  Not  only  did  He  call  him  to  reflection 
and  repentance  by  the  hints  which  He  let  drop  con- 
cerning him  during  the  Last  Supper,  but  in  the  dis- 
courses previous  to  it.  He  may  be  supposed  to  have 
intended  a  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  His 
apostate  disciple.  "  Watch  ye,  therefore,"  He  said, 
"  lest  coming  suddenly.  He  find  you  sleeping." — I 
called  Judas  just  now  wretched ;  for  we  must  not 

K  2 


132  ST.  MATmiAS.  [Sekm. 

speak  of  sinners  according  to  the  falsely-charitable 
way  of  some,  styling  them  unfortunate  instead  of 
wicked,  lest  we  thus  learn  to  excuse  sin  in  ourselves. 
He  was  doubtles  inea?cusahle,  as  we  shall  be,  if  we 
follow  his  pattern;  and  he  must  be  viewed,  not 
C  with  pity,  but  with  fear  and  awe. 

The  reflection  which  rises  in  the  mind  on  a  con- 
sideration of  the  election  of  St.  Matthias,  is  this ; 
how  easily  God  may  effect  His  purposes  without 
us,  and  put  others  in  our  place,  if  we  are  dis- 
obedient to  Him.  It  often  happens  that  those 
who  have  long  been  in  His  favour  grow  secure  and 
presuming.  They  think  their  salvation  certain, 
and  their  service  necessary  to  Him  who  has  gra- 
ciously accepted  it.  They  consider  themselves  as 
personally  bound  up  with  His  purposes  of  mercy 
manifested  in  the  Church;  and  so  marked  out, 
that,  if  they  could  fall.  His  word  would  fail.  They 
come  to  think  they  have  some  peculiar  title  or 
interest  in  His  promises,  over  and  above  other 
men,  (however  derived,  it  matters  not,  whether 
from  His  eternal  decree,  or  on  the  other  hand 
from  their  own  especial  holiness  and  obedience,) 
but  practically  such  an  interest,  that  the  very 
supposition  that  they  can  possibly  fall  offends  them. 
Now  this  feeling  of  self-importance  is  repressed  all 
through  the  Scriptures,  and  especially  by  the  events 
we  commemorate  to-day.  Let  us  consider  this 
subject. 

Eliphaz  the  Temanite  thus  answers  Job,  who  in 


XL]  DIVINE  DECREES.  133 

his  distress  showed  infirmity,  and  gi-ew  impatient 
of  God's  correction.  "  Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto 
God,  as  he  that  is  wise  may  be  profitable  unto 
himself?  Is  it  any  pleasure  to  the  Almighty, 
that  thou  art  righteous  ?  or  is  it  gain  to  Him,  that 
thou  makest  thy  ways  perfect  ^  ?"  And  the  course 
of  His  providence  as  recorded  in  Scripture,  will 
show  us,  that,  in  dealing  with  us  His  rational  crea- 
tures. He  goes  by  no  unconditional  rule,  which 
makes  us  absolutely  His  from  the  first ;  but,  as  He 
is  "  no  respecter  of  persons,"  so  on  the  other  hand 
righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  basis  of  His 
throne  ;  and  that  whoso  rebels,  whether  Archangel 
or  Apostle,  at  once  forfeits  His  favor;  and  this, 
even  for  the  sake  of  those  who  do  not  rebel. 

Not  long  before  the  fall  and  treachery  of  Judas, 
Christ  pronounced  a  blessing,  as  it  seemed,  upon 
all  the  twelve  Apostles,  the  traitor  included.  "  Ye 
which  have  followed  Me,  in  the  regeneration,  when 
the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  His  glory, 
ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  ^"  Who  would  not 
have  thought  from  this  promise,  taken  by  itself, 
and  without  reference  to  the  Eternal  Rule  of  God's 
government,  which  is  always  understood,  even  when 
not  formally  enunciated,  that  Judas  was  sure  of 
eternal  life  ?  It  is  true  our  Saviour  added,  as  if 
with  an  allusion  to  him,  "  many  that  are  first  shall 

»  Job  xxii.  2,  3.  '  Matt.  xix.  28. 


1^4  ST.  MATTHIAS.  [Serm. 

be  last ;"  yet  He  said  nothing  to  undeceive  such  as 
might  refuse  to  consult  and  apply  the  fundamental 
law  of  His  impartial  Providence.  All  His  twelve 
Apostles  seemed  from  the  letter  of  His  words,  to  be 
predestined  to  life ;  nevertheless,  in  a  few  months, 
Matthias  held  the  throne  and  crown  of  one  of  them. 
— And  there  is  something  remarkable  in  the  cir- 
cumstance itself,  that  our  Lord  should  have  made  up 
their  number  to  a  full  twelve,  after  one  had  fallen ; 
and,  perhaps,  there  may  be  contained  in  it  some 
symbolical  allusion  to  the  scope  of  His  decrees, 
which  we  cannot  altogether  enter  into.  Surely, 
had  He  willed  it,  eleven  would  have  accomplished 
His  purpose  as  well  as  twelve.  Why,  when  one 
had  fallen,  should  He  accurately  fill  up  the  perfect 
number  ?  Yet,  not  only  in  the  case  of  the  Apostles, 
but  in  that  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  also,  if  He  rejects 
one,  He  divides  another  into  two  ^  Why  is  this,  but 
to  show  us,  as  it  would  appear,  that  in  this  election 
of  us,  He  does  not  look  at  us  as  mere  individuals,  but 
as  a  body,  as  a  certain  definite  whole,  of  which  the 
parts  may  alter  in  the  process  of  disengaging  it 
from  this  sinful  world, — with  reference  to  some 
glorious  and  harmonious  design  beyond  us,  who 
are  the  immediate  objects  of  His  bounty,  and  shall 
be  the  fruit  of  His  love,  if  we  are  faithful  ?  Why, 
but  to  show  us,  that  He  could  even  find  other 
Apostles   to   suffer   for   Him,  —  and  much   more, 

'  Rev.  vii. 


XT.]  DIVINE  DECREES.  135 

servants  to  fill  His  lower  thrones,  should  we  be 
wanting,  and  transgress  His  strict  and  holy  law? 

This  is  but  one  instance  out  of  many,  in  the 
revealed  history  of  His  moral  government.  He 
was  on  the  point  of  exemplifying  the  same  Rule  in 
the  case  of  the  Israelites,  when  Moses  stayed  His 
hand.  God  purposed  to  consume  them,  when 
they  rebelled,  and  instead  to  make  of  Moses'  seed 
a  great  nation.  This  happened  twice  '.  The  second 
time,  God  declared  what  was  His  end  in  view 
in  fulfilling  which  the  Israelites  were  but  His 
instruments.  "  I  have  pardoned  according  to  thy 
word;  but  as  truly  as  I  live,  oU  the  earth  shall 
be  filled  with  the  glw^y  of  the  Loi'dr  Again,  on  the 
former  occasion,  He  gave  the  Rule  of  His  dealings 
with  them.  Moses  wished  for  the  sake  of  his  people 
to  be  himself  excluded  from  the  land  of  promise ; 
"  If  thou  wilt  forgive  their  sin  ; — and  if  not,  blot 
me,  I  pray  Thee,  out  of  Thy  book  which  Thou  hast 
written.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Whosoever 
hath  sinned  against  Me,  him  will  I  blot  out  of  My 
book."  So  clearly  has  He  shown  us  from  the 
beginning,  that  His  own  glory  is  the  End,  and 
justice  the  essential  Rule  of  His  Providence. 

Again,  Saul  was  chosen,  and  thought  himself 
secure.  His  conduct  evinced  the  self-will  of  an 
independent  monarch,  instead  of  one  who  felt 
himself  to  be  a  mere  instrument   of  God's  pur- 

'  Exod.  xxxii.  32,  33.     Numb.  xiv.  20,  21. 


136  ST.  MAITHIAS.  [Serm. 

poses,  a  minister  of  His  glory,  under  the  obligation 
of  a  law  of  right  and  wrong,  and  strong  only  as 
wielded  by  Him  who  formed  him.  So,  when  he 
sinned,  Samuel  said  to  him,  "  Thou  hast  done 
foolishly,  thou  hast  not  kept  the  commandment  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  ....  for  now  would  the  Lord  have 
established  thy  kingdom  upon  Israel  for  ever.  But 
now  thy  kingdom  shall  not  continue ;  the  Lord 
hath  sought  him  a  man  after  His  own  heart  ^" 
And  again,  "The  Lord  hath  rent  the  kingdom  of 
Israel  from  thee  this  day,  and  hath  given  it  to  a 
neighbour  of  thine,  that  is  better  than  thou  ^." 

In  like  manner,  Christ  also,  convicting  the  Jews 
out  of  their  own  mouth ;  "  He  will  miserably  de- 
stroy those  wicked  men,  and  will  let  out  His  vineyard 
unto  other  husbandmen,  which  shall  render  Him  the 
fruits  in  their  seasons  ^"  Consider  how  strikino- 
an  instance  the  Jews  formed  when  the  Gospel  was 
oiFered  them,  of  the  general  Rule  which  I  am  point- 
ing out.  They  were  rejected.  How  hard  they 
thought  it,  St.  Paul's  Epistles  show.  They  did  not 
shrink  from  declaring,  that,  if  Jesus  were  the  Christ, 
and  the  Gentiles  made  equal  with  them,  God's 
promise  was  broken;  and  you  may  imagine  how 
forcibly  they  might  have  pleaded  the  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which  seemed  irreversibly  to 
assign  honour  and  power  (not  to  say  temporal  honour 
and  power,)  to  the  Israelites  by  name.     Alas  !  they 

'  I  Sara,  xiii.  13,  14.  *  1  Sam.  xv.  28.         *  Matt.  xxi.  41. 


XI.]  DIVINE  DECREES.  137 

did  not  seek  out  and  use  the  one  clue  given  them 
for  their  religious  course,  amid  all  the  mysteries 
both  of  Scripture  and  the  world, — the  one  solemn 
Rule  of  God's  dealings  with  His  creatures.  They 
did  not  listen  for  that  small  still  voice,  running 
under  all  His  dispensations,  most  clear  to  those  who 
would  listen,  amid  all  the  intricacies  of  His  Pro- 
vidence and  His  promises.  Impressed  though  it  be 
upon  the  heart  by  nature,  and  ever  insisted  on  in 
Revelation,  as  the  basis  on  which  God  has  estab- 
lished all  his  decrees,  it  was  to  them  a  hard  saying. 
St.  Paul  retorts  it  on  their  consciences,  when  they 
complained.  "  God  (he  says)  will  render  to  every 
man  according  to  his  deeds.  To  them  who  by 
patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  glory  and 
honour  and  immortality,  eternal  life ;  but  unto  them 
that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  Truth, 
but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation  and  wrath ; 
— tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul  of  man 
that  doeth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the 
Gentile ;  but  glory,  honour,  and  peace,  to  every  man 
that  worketh  good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the 
Gentile.  For  there  is  no  respect  qfpersoiis  with  God  \" 
Such  was  the  unchangeable  Rule  of  God's 
government,  as  it  is  propounded  by  St.  Paul  in 
explanation  of  the  Jewish  election,  and  significantly 
prefixed  to  his  discourse  upon  the  Christian.  Such 
as  was  the  Mosaic,  such  also  is  the  Gospel  Cove- 

•  Rom.  ii.  6—11. 


138  ST.  MATTHIAS.  [Serm. 

nant,  made  without  respect  of  persons ;  rich,  in- 
deed, in  privilege  and  promise  far  above  the  Elder 
Dispensation,  but  bearing  on  its  front  the  same 
original  avowal  of  impartial  retribution, — "  peace 
to  every  man  that  worketh  good,"  "  wrath  to  the 
disobedient ;"  predestining  to  glory,  characters  not 
persons,  pledging  the  gift  of  perseverance  not  to 
individuals,  but  to  a  body  of  which  the  separate 
members  might  change.  This  is  the  doctrine  set 
before  us  by  that  Apostle,  to  whom  was  revealed  in 
an  extraordinary  way  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
Covenant,  its  peculiar  blessedness,  gifts,  and  pro- 
mises. The  New  Covenant  was,  so  far,  not  unlike 
the  Old,  as  some  reasoners  in  these  days  would 
maintain. 

We  are  vouchsafed  a  further  witness  to  it,  in  the 
favoured  Evangelist,  who  finally  closed  and  per- 
fected the  volume  of  God's  revelations,  after  the 
death  of  his  brethren.  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly, 
and  My  reward  is  with  Me,  to  give  every  man 

according  as  his  work  shall  be Blessed  are 

they  that  do  His  commandments,  that  they  may  have 
right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through 
the  gates  into  the  city  \" 

And  a  third  witness  that  the  Christian  Election  is 
like  the  Jewish,  conditional,  is  our  Lord's  own  de- 
claration, which  He  left  behind  Him  with  His 
Apostles  when  He  was  leaving  the  world,  as  re- 

'  Rev.  xxii.  12.  14. 


XL]  DIVINE  DECREES.  139 

corded  by  the  same  Evangelist.  "  If  a  man  abide 
not  in  Me^^  He  said,  "  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch, 
and  is  withered ;  and  men  gather  them,  and  cast 
them  into  the  fire,  and  they  are  burned."  And, 
lest  restless  and  reluctant  minds  should  shelter 
their  opposition  to  this  solemn  declaration  under 
some  supposed  obscurity  in  the  expression  of 
"  abiding  in  Him,"  and  say  that  none  abide  in  Him 
but  the  predestined,  He  adds,  for  the  removal  of 
all  doubt,  "  If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall 
abide  in  my  love  ^" 

Lastly,  in  order  to  complete  the  solemn  promul- 
gation of  His  Eternal  Rule,  He  exemplified  it, 
while  He  spoke  it,  in  the  instance  of  an  Apostle. 
He  knew  whom  He  had  chosen ;  that  they  were 
"  not  all  clean,"  that  "  one  of  them  was  a  devil ;" 
yet  He  chose  all  twelve,  as  if  to  show  that  souls 
chosen  for  eternal  life  might  fall  away.  Thus,  in 
the  case  of  the  Apostles  themselves,  in  the  very 
foundation  of  His  Church,  He  laid  deep  the  serious 
and  merciful  warning,  if  we  have  wisdom  to  lay  it 
to  heart ;  "  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear ;"  for,  if 
God  spared  not  Apostles,  neither  will  He  spare 
thee! 

What  solemn  overpowering  thoughts  must  have 
crowded  on  St.  Matthias,  when  he  received  the 
greetings  of  the  eleven  Apostles,  and  took  His  seat 
among  them  as  their  brother !  His  very  election  was 

*  John  XV.  16. 


140  ST.  MATTHIAS.  [Seem. 

a  witness  against  himself,  if  he  did  not  fulfil  it.  And 
such  surely  will  ours  be  in  our  degree.  We  take  the 
place  of  others  who  have  gone  before,  as  Matthias 
did ;  we  are  "  baptized  for  the  dead,"  filling  up  the 
ranks   of  soldiers,    some   of  whom,   indeed,   have 
fought  a  good  fight,  but  many  of  whom  in  every 
age  have  made  void  their  calling.    Many  are  called, 
few  are  chosen.     The  monuments  of  sin  and  unbe- 
lief are  set  up  around  us.     The  casting  away  of  the 
Jew^s  was  the  reconciling  of  the  Gentiles.     The  fall 
of  one  nation  is  the  conversion  of  another.     The 
Church  loses  old  branches,  and  gains  new.     God 
works  according  to  His  own  inscrutable  pleasure ; 
He  has  left  the  East,  and  manifested  Himself  West- 
ward.    Thus  the  Christian  of  every  age  is  but  the 
successor  of  the  lost  and  of  the  dead.     How  long 
we  of  this  country  shall  be  put  in  trust  with  the 
Gospel,  we  know  not ;  but  while  we  have  the  pri- 
vilege, assuredly  we  do  but  stand  in  the  place  of 
Christians  who  have  either  utterly  fallen  away,  or 
are  so  corrupted,  as  scarcely  to  let  their  light  shine 
before  men.     We  are  at  present  witnesses  of  the 
Truth  ;  and  our  very  glory  is  our  warning.     By  the 
superstitions,  the  profanities,  the  indifference,  the 
unbelief   of  the  world   called    Christian,   we    are 
called  upon  to  be  lowly-minded  while  we  preach 
aloud,  and  to  tremble  while  we  rejoice.     Let  us 
then,  as  a  Church  and  as  individuals,  one  and  all, 
look  to  Him  who  alone  can  keep  us  from  falling. 
Let  us  with  single  heart  look  up   to  Christ  our 


XL]  DIVINE  DECREES.  141 

Saviour,  and  put  ourselves  hito  His  hands,  from 
whom  all  our  strength  and  wisdom  is  derived.  Let 
us  avoid  the  beginnings  of  temptation  ;  let  us  watch 
and  pray  lest  we  enter  into  it.  Avoiding  all  specu- 
lations which  are  above  us,  let  us  follow  what  tends 
to  edifying.  Let  us  receive  into  our  hearts  the 
great  truth,  that  we  who  have  been  freely  accepted 
and  sanctified  as  members  of  Christ,  shall  hereafter 
be  judged  by  our  works,  done  in  and  through  Him ; 
that  the  Sacraments  unite  us  to  Him,  and  that 
faith  makes  the  Sacraments  open  their  hidden  vir- 
tue, and  flow  forth  in  pardon  and  grace.  Beyond 
this  we  may  not  inquire.  How  it  is  one  man  per- 
severes and  another  falls,  what  are  the  exact  limits 
and  character  of  our  natural  corruption, — these  are 
over-subtle  questions ;  while  we  know  for  certain, 
that  though  we  can  do  nothing  of  ourselves,  yet 
that  salvation  is  in  our  own  power,  for  however 
deep  and  far-spreading  is  the  root  of  evil  in  us, 
God's  grace  will  be  sufficient  for  our  need. 


SERMON    XII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED 
VIRGIN  MARY. 

THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER. 


Luke  i.  48. 

From  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed. 

To-day  we  celebrate  the  Annunciation  of  the  Virgin 
Mary ;  when  the  Angel  Gabriel  was  sent  to  tell 
her  that  she  was  to  be  the  Mother  of  our  Lord,  and 
when  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  her,  and  over- 
shadowed her  with  the  power  of  the  Highest.  In 
that  great  event  was  fulfilled  her  anticipation  as 
expressed  in  the  text.  All  generations  have  called 
her  blessed  ^  The  Angel  began  the  salutation ;  he 
said,  "  Hail,  thou  that  art  highly-favoured ;  the 
Lord  is  with  thee ;  blessed  ^  art  thou  among  women." 
Again  he  said,  "  Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast 
found  favour  with  God ;  and,  behold,  thou  shalt 
conceive  in  thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  Son,  and 
shalt  call  His  name  Jesus.     He  shall  be  great,  and 


ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.      \4S 

shall  be  called   the    Son  of  the   Highest."     Her 
cousin  Elizabeth  was  the  next  to  greet  her  with 
her  appropriate  title.     Though  she  was  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  at  the  time  she   spake,  yet,  far 
from  thinking  herself  by  such  a  gift   equalled  to 
Mary,  she  was  thereby  moved  to  use  the  lowlier 
and   more   reverent   language.     "  She   spake   out 
with  a  loud  voice,  and  said.  Blessed  art  thou  among 
women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy  womb.    And 
whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother  of  my  Lord 
should  come  to  me?"  ....  Then  she  repeated, 
"  Blessed  is  she  that  believed ;  for  there  shall  be  a 
performance  of  those  things  which  were  told  her 
from   the    Lord."     Then   it  was  that   Mary  gave 
utterance  to  her  feelings  in  the  Hymn  which  we 
read  in  the  Evening  Service,    How  many  and  com- 
plicated  must  they  have  been  !     In  her  was  now  to 
be  fulfilled  that  promise  which  the  world  had  been 
looking  out  for  during  thousands  of  years.     Tlie 
Seed  of  the  woman,  announced  to  guilty  Eve,  after 
long  delay,  was  at  length  appearing  upon   earth, 
and  was  to  be  born  of  her.     In  her  the  destinies 
of  the  world  were  to  be  reversed,  and  the  serpent's 
head  bruised.     On  her  was  bestowed  the  greatest 
honour  ever  put  upon  any  individual  of  our  fallen 
race.     God  was  taking  upon  Him  her  flesh,  and 
humbling  Himself,  to  be  called  Her  offspring; — 
such  is  the  deep  mystery !    She  of  course  would  feel 
her  own  inexpressible  un worthiness ;  and  again,  her 
humble  lot,  her  ignorance,  her  weakness  in  the  eyes 


144    ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Serm. 

of  the  world.  And  she  had,  moreover,  we  may 
well  suppose,  that  purity  and  innocence  of  heart, 
that  bright  vision  of  faith,  that  confiding  trust  in 
her  God,  which  raised  all  these  feelings  to  an  in- 
tensity which  we,  ordinary  mortals,  cannot  under- 
stand. We  cannot  understand  them ;  we  repeat 
her  hymn  day  after  day, — yet  consider  for  an  in- 
stant in  how  different  a  mode  we  say  it  from  that 
in  which' she  at  the  first  uttered  it.  We  even  hurry 
it  over,  and  do  not  think  of  the  meaning  of  those 
words,  which  came  from  the  most  highly  favoured, 
awfully  gifted  of  the  children  of  men.  "  My  soul 
doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced 
in  God  my  Saviour.  For  He  hath  regarded  the 
low  estate  of  His  hand-maiden :  for  behold,  from 
henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed. 
For  He  that  is  mighty  hath  done  to  me  great 
things ;  and  holy  is  His  name.  And  His  mercy 
is  on  them  that  fear  Him  from  generation  to 
generation." 

Now  let  us  consider  in  what  respects  the  Virgin 
Mary  is  Blessed  ;  a  title  first  given  her  by  the 
Angel,  and  next  by  the  Church  in  all  ages  since  to 
this  day. 

1.  I  observe,  that  in  her  the  curse  pronounced  on 
Eve,  was  changed  to  a  blessing.  Eve  was  doomed 
to  bear  children  in  sorrow ;  but  now  this  very 
dispensation,  in  which  the  token  of  Divine  anger 
was  conveyed,  was  made  the  means  by  which  sal- 
vation came  into  the  Avorld.    Christ  might  have  de- 


XII.]  THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER.  145 

scended  from  heaven,  as  He  went,  and  as  He  will 
come  again.  He  might  have  taken  on  Him  a  body 
from  the  ground,  as  Adam  was  taken ;  or  been 
formed,  like  Eve,  in  some  other  divinely  devised 
way.  But,  far  from  this,  God  sent  forth  His  Son 
(as  St.  Paul  says),  "  made  of  a  woman."  For  it  has 
been  His  gracious  purpose  to  turn  all  that  is  ours 
from  evil  to  good.  Had  He  so  pleased.  He  might 
have  found,  when  we  sinned,  other  beings  to  do 
Him  service,  casting  us  into  hell ;  but  He  purposed 
to  save  and  to  change  tis.  And  in  like  manner  all 
that  belongs  to  us,  our  reason,  our  aifections,  our 
pursuits,  our  relations  in  life,  He  wishes  nothing 
put  aside  in  His  disciples,  but  all  sanctified.  There- 
fore, instead  of  sending  His  Son  from  Heaven,  He 
sent  Him  forth  as  the  Son  of  Marv,  to  show  that  all 
our  sorrow  and  all  our  corruption  can  be  blessed 
and  changed  by  Him.  The  very  punishment  of  the 
fall,  the  very  taint  of  birth-sin,  admits  of  a  cure  by 
the  coming  of  Christ. 

2.  But  there  is  another  portion  of  the  original 
punishment  of  woman,  which  may  be  considered  as 
repealed  when  Christ  came.  It  was  said  to  the 
woman,  "  Thy  husband  shall  rule  over  thee ;"  a 
sentence  which  has  been  strikingly  fulfilled.  Man 
has  strength  to  conquer  the  thorns  and  thistles 
which  the  earth  is  cursed  with,  but  the  same 
strength  has  ever  proved  the  fulfilment  of  the 
punishment  awarded  to  the  woman.  Look  abroad 
through   the   Heathen    world,    and    see    how   the 

VOL.  11.  L 


146    ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN     [Serm. 

weaker  half  of  mankind  has  every  where  been  tyran- 
nized over  and  debased  by  the  strong  arm  of  force. 
Consider  all  those  eastern  nations,  which  have  never 
at  any  time  reverenced  it,  but  have  heartlessly  made 
it  the  slave  of  every  bad  and  cruel  purpose.  Thus 
the  serpent  has  triumphed, — making  the  man  still 
degrade  himself  by  her  who  originally  tempted  him, 
and  her,  who  then  tempted,  now  suffer  from  him 
who  was  seduced.  Nay,  even  under  the  light  of 
revelation,  the  punishment  on  the  woman  was  not 
removed  at  once.  Still,  (in  the  words  of  the  curse,) 
her  husband  ruled  over  her.  The  very  practice  of 
polygamy  and  divorce,  which  was  suffered  under  the 
patriarchal  and  Jewish  dispensations,  proves  it. 

But  when  Christ  came  as  the  seed  of  the  woman. 
He  vindicated  the  rights  and  honour  of  His  Mother. 
Not  that  the  distinction  of  ranks  is  destroyed  under 
the  Gospel ;  the  woman  is  still  made  inferior  to  the 
man,  as  he  to  Christ ;  but  the  slavery  is  done  away 
with.  St.  Peter  bids  the  husband  "  give  honour 
unto  the  wife,  because  the  weaker,  in  that  both  are 
heirs  of  the  grace  of  life  \"  And  St.  Paul,  while  en- 
joining subjection  upon  her,  speaks  of  the  especial 
blessedness  vouchsafed  her  in  being  the  appointed 
entrance  of  the  Saviour  into  the  world.  "  Adam 
was  first  formed,  then  Eve;  and  Adam  was  not 
deceived,  but  the  woman  being  deceived  was  in  the 
transgression."     But,  "  notwithstanding,  she   shall 

*  1  Peter  iii.  7. 


XII.]  THE  RB^VERENCE  DUE  TO  HER.  147 

be  saved  through  the  Child-bearing  \"  that  is. 
through  the  birth  of  Christ  from  Mary,  which  was 
a  blessing,  as  upon  all  mankind,  so  peculiarly  upon 
the  woman.  Accordingly,  from  that  time,  Marriage 
has  not  only  been  restored  to  its  original  dignity, 
but  even  gifted  with  a  spiritual  privilege,  as  the 
outward  symbol  of  the  heavenly  union  subsisting 
betwixt  Christ  and  His  Church. 

Thus  has  the  Virgin  Mary,  in  bearing  bur  Lord, 
taken  off  or  lightened  the  peculiar  disgrace  which 
the  woman  inherited  for  seducing  Adam,  sanctifying 
the  one  part  of  it,  repealing  the  other. 

3.  But  further,  she  is  doubtless  to  be  accounted 
blessed  and  favoured  in  herself,  as  well  as  in  the 
benefits  she  has  done  us.  Who  can  estimate  the 
holiness  and  perfection  of  her,  who  was  chosen  to 
be  the  Mother  of  Christ  ?  If  to  him  that  hath, 
more  is  given,  and  holiness  and  divine  favour  go 
together,  (and  this  we  are  expressly  told,)  what 
must  have  been  the  transcendent  purity  of  her, 
whom  the  Creator  Spirit  condescended  to  over- 
shadow with  His  miraculous  presence  ?  What  must 
have  been  her  gifts,  who  was  chosen  to  be  the  only 
near  earthly  relative  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  only 
one  whom  He  was  bound  by  nature  to  revere  and 
look  up  to ;  the  one  appointed  to  train  and  educate 
Him,  to  instruct  Him  day  by  day,  as  He  grew  in 
wisdom  and  in  stature  ?     This  contemplation  runs 

»  1  Tim.  ii.  15. 
l2 


148    ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Sehm. 

to  a  higher  subject,  did  we  dare  follow  it ;  for  what, 
think  you,  was  the  sanctified  state  of  that  human 
nature,  of  which  God  formed  his  sinless  Son ;  know- 
ing, as  we  do,  "  that  what  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is 
flesh ;"  and  that  "  none  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out 
of  an  unclean '  ?" 

Now,  after  dwelling  on  thoughts  such  as  these, 
when  we  turn  back  again  to  the  Gospels,  I  think 
every  one  must  feel  some  surprise,  that  we  are  not 
told  more  about  the  Virgin  Mary,  than  we  find 
there.  After  the  circumstances  of  Christ's  birth 
and  infancy,  we  hear  little  of  her.  Little  is  said 
in  praise  of  her.  She  is  mentioned  as  attending 
Christ  to  the  cross,  and  there  committed  by  Him 
to  St.  John's  keeping ;  and  she  is  mentioned  as 
continuing  with  the  Apostles  in  prayer  after  His 
ascension ;  and  then  we  hear  no  more  of  her.  But, 
here  again  in  this  silence  we  find  instruction,  as 
much  as  in  the  mention  of  her. 

1.  It  suggests  to  us  that  Scripture  was  written, 
not  to  exalt  this  or  that  particular  Saint,  but  to 
give  glory  to  Almighty  God.  There  have  been  thou- 
sands of  holy  souls  in  the  times  of  which  the  Bible 
history  treats,  whom  we  know  nothing  of,  because 
their  lives  did  not  fall  upon  the  line  of  God's  public 
dealings  with  man.  In  Scripture  we  read,  not  of 
all  the  good  men  who  ever  were,  only  of  a  few, 
viz.    those  in  whom   God's    name  was   especially 

'   1  John  iii.  6.     Job  xiv.  4. 


XII.]  THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER.  149 

honoured.  Doubtless  there  have  been  many  widows 
in  Israel,  serving  God  in  fastings  and  prayers,  like 
Anna ;  but  she  only  is  mentioned  in  Scripture,  as 
being  in  a  situation  to  glorify  the  Lord  Jesus.  She 
spoke  of  the  Infant  Saviour  "  to  all  them  that 
looked  for  redemption  in  Jerusalem."  Nay,  for 
what  we  know,  faith  like  Abraham's,  and  zeal  like 
David's,  have  burned  in  the  breasts  of  thousands 
whose  names  have  no  memorial ;  because,  (I  say,) 
Scripture  is  written  to  show  us  the  course  of  God's 
great  and  marvellous  Providence,  and  we  hear  of 
those  Saints  only  who  were  the  instruments  of  His 
purposes,  as  either  introducing  or  preaching  His 
Son.  Christ's  favoured  Apostle  was  St.  John,  His 
personal  friend ;  yet,  how  little  do  we  know  of  St. 
John  compared  with  St.  Paul ; — and  why  ?  because 
St.  Paul  was  the  more  illustrious  propagator  and 
dispenser  of  His  Truth.  As  St.  Paul  himself  said, 
that  he  "  knew  no  man  after  the  flesh  \"  so  His 
Saviour,  with  somewhat  a  similar  meaning,  has  hid 
from  us  the  knowledge  of  His  more  sacred  and 
familiar  feelings,  His  feelings  towards  His  Mother 
and  His  friend.  These  were  not  to  be  exposed,  as 
unfit  for  the  world  to  know, — as  dangerous,  because 
not  admitting  of  being  known,  without  a  risk  lest  the 
honour  which  those  Saints  received  through  grace, 
should  eclipse  in  our  minds  the  honour  of  Him  who 
honoured  them.     Had  the  Virgin  Mary  been  more 

'   2  Cor.  V.   16. 


150    ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Seem. 

fully  disclosed  to  us  in  the  heavenly  beauty  and 
sweetness  of  the  spirit  within  her,  true,  she  would 
have  been  honoured,  her  gifts  would  have  been 
clearly  seen ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  Giver  would 
have  been  somewhat  less  contemplated,  because  no 
design  or  work  of  His  would  have  been  disclosed 
in  her  history.  She  would  have  seemingly  been 
introduced  for  her  sake,  not  for  His  sake.  When  a 
Saint  is  seen  working  towards  an  end  appointed  by 
God,  we  see  him  to  be  a  mere  instrument,  a  servant 
though  a  favoured  one ;  and,  though  we  admire 
him,  yet,  after  all,  we  glorify  God  in  him.  We 
pass  on  from  him  to  the  work  to  which  he  ministers. 
But,  when  any  one  is  introduced,  full  of  gifts,  yet 
without  visible  and  immediate  subserviency  to 
God's  designs,  such  a  one  seems  revealed  for  his 
own  sake.  We  should  rest,  perchance,  in  the 
thought  of  him,  and  think  of  the  creature  more 
than  the  Creator.  Thus  it  is  a  dangerous  thing,  it 
is  too  high  a  privilege,  for  sinners  like  ourselves, 
to  know  the  best  and  innermost  thoughts  of  God's 
servants.  We  cannot  bear  to  see  such  men  in  their 
own  place,  in  the  retirement  of  private  life,  and 
the  calmness  of  hope  and  joy.  The  higher  their 
gifts,  the  less  fitted  they  are  for  being  seen.  Even 
St.  John  the  Apostle,  was  twice  tempted  to  fall 
down  in  worship  before  an  Angel  who  showed  him 
the  things  to  come.  And,  if  he  who  had  seen  the 
Son  of  God  was  thus  overcome  by  the  creature, 
how  is  it  possible  we  could  bear  to  gaze  upon  the 


XII.]  THE  REVEREiNCE  DUE  TO  HER.  151 

creature's  holiness  in  its  fulness,  especially  as  we 
should  be  more  able  to  enter  into  it,  and  estimate  it, 
than  to  comprehend  the  infinite  perfections  of  the 
Eternal  Godhead  ?  Therefore,  many  truths  are,  like 
the  "  things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered  S" 
"  sealed  up"  from  us.  In  particular,  it  is  in  mercy 
to  us  that  so  little  is  revealed  about  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  in  mercy  to  our  weakness,  though  of  her 
there  are  "  many  things  to  say,"  yet  they  are  "  hard 
to  be  uttered,  seeing  we  are  dull  of  hearing  ^." 

2.  But,  further,  the  more  we  consider  who  the 
Virgin  was,  the  more  dangerous  will  such  know- 
ledge of  her  appear  to  be.  Other  saints  are  but  in- 
fluenced or  inspired  by  Christ,  and  made  partakers 
of  Him  mystically.  But,  as  to  the  Virgin,  Christ 
derived  his  manhood  from  her,  and  so  had  an 
especial  unity  of  nature  with  her ;  and  this  won- 
drous relationship  between  God  and  man,  it  is  per- 
haps impossible  for  us  to  dwell  much  upon  without 
some  perversion  of  feeling.  For,  truly,  she  is  raised  \ 
above  the  condition  of  sinful  beings,  though  she 
was  a  sinner ;  she  is  brought  near  to  God,  yet  is  but  [ 
a  creature ;  and,  seems  to  lack  her  fitting  place  in 
our  limited  understandings,  neither  too  high  nor 
too  low.  We  cannot  combine  in  our  thought  of  her, 
all  we  should  ascribe  with  all  we  should  with- 
hold. Hence,  following  the  example  of  Scripture, 
we  had  better  only  think  of  her  with  and  for  her 

'  Rev.  X.  4.  =>  Heb.  v.  11. 


152   ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Sekm. 

Son,  never  separating  her  from  Him,  but,  using  her 
name  as  a  memorial  of  His  great  condescension  in 
stooping  from  heaven,  and  "  not  abhorring  the 
Virgin's  womb."  And  this  is  the  rule  -of  our  own 
Church,  which  has  set  apart  only  such  Festivals  in 
honour  of  the  Blessed  Mary,  as  may  also  be  Festivals 
in  honour  of  our  Lord ;  the  Purification  comme- 
morating His  presentation  in  the  Temple,  and 
the  Annunciation  commemorating  His  incarnation. 
And,  with  this  caution,  the  thought  of  her  may  be 
made  most  profitable  to  our  faith ;  for,  nothing  is 
so  calculated  to  impress  on  our  minds  that  Christ 
is  really  partaker  of  our  nature,  and  in  all  respects 
man,  save  sin  only,  as  to  associate  Him  with  the 
thought  of  her,  by  whose  ministration  He  became 
our  brother. 

To  conclude.  Observe  the  lesson  which  we  gain 
for  ourselves  from  the  history  of  the  Virgin  Mary ; 
that  the  highest  graces  of  the  soul  may  be  matured 
in  private,  and  without  those  fierce  trials  to  which 
the  many  are  exposed  in  order  to  their  sanotifica- 
tion.  So  hard  are  our  hearts,  that  affliction,  pain, 
and  anxiety  are  sent  to  humble  us,  and  dispose  us 
towards  a  true  faith  in  the  heavenly  word,  when 
preached  to  us.  Yet,  it  is  only  our  extreme  obsti- 
nacy of  unbelief  which  renders  this  chastisement 
necessary.  The  aids  which  God  gives  under  the 
Gospel  Covenant,  have  power  to  renew  and  purify 
our  hearts,  without  uncommon  providences  to  dis- 
cipline us  into  receiving  them.      God   gives   His 


i 


XII.]  THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER.  153 

Holy  Spirit  to  us  silently ;  and  the  silent  duties  of 
every  day,  (it  may  be  humbly  hoped,)  are  blest  to 
the  sufficient  sanctification  of  thousands,  whom  the 
world  knows  not  of.     The  Virgin  Mary  is  a  memo- 
rial of  this ;  and  it  is  consoling  as  well  as  instruc- 
tive to  know  it.     When  we  quench  the  grace  of 
Baptism,  then  it  is  that  we  need  severe  trials  to  re- 
store us.     This  is  the  case  of  the  multitude,  whose 
best  estate  is  that  of  chastisement,  repentance,  sup- 
plication,  and  absolution,  again  and  again.     But, 
there  are  those,  who  go  on  in  a  calm  and  unswerv- 
ing course,  learning  day  by  day  to  love  Him  who 
has   redeemed  them,    and   overcoming  the  sin  of 
their  nature  by  His  heavenly  grace,  as  the  various 
temptations  to  evil  successively  present  themselves. 
And,  of  these  undefiled  followers  of  the  Lamb,  the 
Virgin  Mary  is  the  chief.     Strong  in  the  Lord,  and 
/    the  power  His  might,   she  "  staggered  not  at  the 
*     promise  of  God  through   unbelief;"  she  believed 
when  Zacharias  doubted, — with  a  faith  like  Abra- 
ham^ she  believed,  and  was  blessed  for  her  belief, 
and  had  the   performance   of  those  things  which 
were  told  her  by  the  Lord.     And   when  sorrow 
came  upon  her  afterwards,  it  was  but  the  blessed 
participation  of  her  Son's  sacred   sorrows,  not  the 
sorrow  of  those  who  suffer  for  their  sins. 

If  we,  through  God's  unspeakable  gift,  have  in  any 
measure  followed  Mary's  innocence  in  our  youth, 
so  far  let  us  bless  Him  who  enabled  us.  But  so  far 
as  we  are  conscious  of  having  departed  from  Him,  let 


154    ANNUNCIATION  OF  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN.    [Serm. 

US  bewail  our  miserable  guilt.  Let  us  acknowledge 
from  the  heart  that  no  punishment  is  too  severe  for 
us,  no  chastisement  should  be  unwelcome,  (though 
it  is  a  sore  thing  to  learn  to  welcome  pain,)  if  it 
tend  to  burn  away  the  corruption  which  has  propa- 
gated itself  within  us.  Let  us  count  all  things  as 
gain,  which  God  sends  to  cleanse  away  the  marks 
of  sin  and  shame  which  are  upon  our  foreheads. 
The  day  will  come  at  length,  when  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  will  unveil  that  Sacred  Countenance  to  the 
whole  world,  which  no  sinner  ever  yet  could  see  and 
live.  Then  will  the  world  be  forced  to  look  upon 
Him,  whom  they  pierced  with  their  unrepented 
wickedness ;  "  all  faces  will  gather  blackness  \" 
Then  they  will  discern,  what  they  do  not  now 
believe,  the  utter  deformity  of  sin ;  while  the  Saints 
of  the  Lord,  who  seemed  on  earth  to  bear  but  the 
countenance  of  common  men,  will  wake  up  one  by 
one  after  His  likeness,  and  be  fearful  to  look  upon. 
And  then  will  be  fulfilled  the  promise  pledged 
to  the  Church  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  It 
will  be  "good"  to  be  with  those  whose  tabernacles 
might  have  been  a  snare  to  us  on  earth,  had  we  been 
allowed  to  build  them.  We  shall  see  our  Lord,  and 
His  Blessed  Mother,  the  Apostles  and  Prophets, 
and  all  those  righteous  men  whom  we  now  read  of 
in  history,  and  long  to  know.  Then  we  shall  be 
taught  in  those  Mysteries  which  are  now  above  us. 

'  Joel  ii.  6. 
1 


XII.]  THE  REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HER.  155 

In  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  "  Beloved,  now  are  we 
the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be;  but  we  know  that,  when  He  shall 
appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him 
as  He  is :  and  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in 
Him,  pmifieth  himself,  even  as  He  is  pure  ^" 

'  1  John  iii.   2,  3.     On    the   subject   of  this    Sermon,   vid. 
Bishop  Bull's  Sermon  on  Luke  i.  48,  49. 


SERMON  XIII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT. 


Luke  xxiv.  5,  6. 

Why  seek  ye  the  Living  among  the  dead  ?     He  is  not  here,  but 
is  risen. 

Such  is  the  triumphant  question  with  which  the 
Holy  Angels  put  to  flight  the  sadness  of  the  women 
on  the  morning  of  Christ's  resurrection.  "  O  ye  of 
little  faith,"  less  faith  than  love,  more  dutiful  than 
understanding,  why  come  ye  to  anoint  His  Body 
on  the  third  day  ?  Why  seek  ye  the  Living  Saviour 
in  the  tomb  ?  The  time  of  sorrow  is  run  out ;  vic- 
tory has  come,  according  to  His  word,  and  ye  recol- 
lect it  not.     "  He  is  not  here,  but  is  risen  !" 

These  were  deeds  done  and  words  spoken  eigh- 
teen hundred  years  since  ;  so  long  ago,  that  in  the 
world's  thought  they  are  as  though  they  never  had 
been ;  yet  they  hold  good  to  this  day.  Christ  is  to 
us  now,  just  what  He  was  in  all  His  glorious  Attri- 
butes  on  the   morning  of  the   Resurrection;  and 


Serm.  XIII.]    CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  157 

we  are  blessed  in  knowing  it,  even  more  than  the 
women  to  whom  the  Angels  spoke,  according  to  His 
own  assurance,  "Blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

On  this  highest  of  Festivals,  I  will  attempt  to  set 
before  you  one  out  of  the  many  comfortable  sub- 
jects of  reflection  which  it  suggests. 

1.  First,  then,  observe  how  Christ's  resurrection 
harmonizes  with  the  history  of  His  birth.  David 
had  foretold  that  His  "  soul  should  not  be  left  in 
hell,"  (that  is  the  unseen  state,)  neither  should  "  the 
Holy  One  of  God  see  corruption."  And  with  a 
reference  to  this  prophecy,  St.  Peter  says,  that  it 
"  was  not  possible  that  He  should  be  holden  of 
death  ^;"  as  if  there  were  some  hidden  inherent 
vigour  in  Him,  which  secured  His  Manhood  from 
dissolution.  The  greatest  infliction  of  pain  and 
violence  could  only  destroy  its  powers  for  a  season ; 
but  nothing  could  make  it  decay.  "  Thou  wilt  not 
suffer  Thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption;"  so  says 
the  Scripture,  and  elsewhere  calls  Him  the  "  Holy 
child  Jesus  ^"  These  expressions  carry  our  minds 
back  to  the  Angels'  announcement  of  His  birth,  in 
which  His  incorruptible  and  immortal  nature  is 
implied.  "  That  Holy  Thing"  which  was  born  of 
Mary,  was  "  the  Son,"  not  of  man,  but  "  of  God." 
Others  have  all  been  born  in  sin,   "  after  Adam's 


»  Ps.  xvi.  10.     Acts  ii.  24.  27.  Tovoaiov. 
'  Acts  iv.  27.  Tov  ayioy. 


158  EASTER-DAY.  [Serm. 

own  likeness,  in  his  image  S"  and,  being  born  in 
sin,  they  are  heirs  to  corruption.  "  By  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death,"  and  all  its 
consequences,  "  by  sin."  Not  one  human  being 
comes  into  existence  without  God's  discerning  evi- 
dences of  sin  attendant  on  his  birth.  But  when  the 
Word  of  Life  was  manifested  in  our  flesh,  the  Holy 
Ghost  displayed  that  creative  hand,  by  which,  in  the 
beginning,  Eve  was  formed ;  and  the  Holy  Child, 
thus  conceived  by  the  Power  of  the  Highest,  was 
(as  the  history  shows,)  immortal  even  in  His  mortal 
nature,  clear  from  all  infection  of  the  forbidden 
fruit,  so  far  as  to  be  sinless  and  incorruptible. 
Therefore,  though  He  was  liable  to  death,  "  it  was 
impossible  He  should  be  holdevb''  of  it.  Death 
might  overpower,  but  it  could  not  keep  possession ; 
"  it  had  no  dominion  over  Him  ^"  He  was,  in  the 
words  of  the  text,  "  the  Living  among  the  dead." 

And  hence  His  rising  from  the  dead  may  be  said 
to  have  evinced  His  divine  original.  He  was  "  de- 
clared to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according 
to  the  Spirit  of  Holiness,"  that  is,  His  essential 
Godhead,  "  by  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ^" 
He  had  been  condemned  as  a  blasphemer  by  the 
Jewish  Rulers,  "  because  He  made  Himself  the  Son 
of  God ;"  and  He  was  brought  to  the  death  of  the 
Cross,  not  only  as  a  punishment,  but  as  a  practical 
refutation  of  His  claim.  He  was  challenged  by 
His  enemies  on  this  score ;  "  If  thou  be  the  Son 

*  Gen.  V.  3.  '  Rom.  vi.  9.  *  Rom.  i.  4. 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  159 

of  God,  come  down  from  the  Cross."  Thus  His 
crucifixion  was  as  though  a  trial,  a  new  experiment 
on  the  part  of  Satan,  who  had  before  tempted  Him, 
whether  He  was  like  other  men,  or  the  Son  of 
God.  Observe  the  event.  He  was  obedient  unto 
death,  fulfilling  the  law  of  that  disinherited  nature 
which  He  had  assumed  ;  and  in  order,  by  under- 
going it,  to  atone  for  our  sins.  So  far  was  per- 
mitted by  God's  "  determinate  counsel  and  fore- 
knowledge ;"  but  there  the  triumph  of  His  enemies, 
so  to  account  it,  ended;  ended,  with  what  w^as 
necessary  for  our  redemption.  He  said,  '*  It  is 
finished;"  for  His  humiliation  was  at  its  lowest 
depth  when  He  expired.  Immediately  some  inci- 
pient tokens  showed  themselves,  that  the  real  vic- 
tory was  with  Him ;  first,  the  earthquake  and 
other  wonders  in  heaven  and  earth.  These  even 
were  enough  to  justify  His  claim  in  the  judgment 
of  the  heathen  Centurion;  who  said  at  once, 
"  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God."  Then  followed 
His  descent  into  hell,  and  triumph  in  the  unseen 
world,  whatever  that  was.  Lastly,  that  glorious 
deed  of  power  on  the  third  morning  which  we  now 
commemorate.  The  dead  arose.  The  grave  could 
not  detain  Him  who  "  had  life  in  Himself."  He 
rose  as  a  man  awakes  in  the  morning,  when  sleep 
flies  from  him  as  a  thing  of  course.  Corruption 
had  no  power  over  that  Sacred  Body,  the  fruit  of  an 
immaculate  conception.     The  bonds  of  death  were 


160  EASTER- DAY.  [Seum. 

broken  as  "  green  withs,"  witnessing  by  their  feeble- 
ness that  He  was  the  Son  of  God. 

Such  is  the  connexion  between  Christ's  birth 
and  resurrection;  and  more  than  this  might  be 
ventured  concerning  His  incorrupt  nature,  were  it 
not  better  to  avoid  all  risk  of  trespassing  upon  that 
reverence  with  which  we  are  bound  to  regard  it. 
Something  might  be  said  concerning  His  personal 
appearance,  which  seems  to  have  borne  the  marks 
of  one  who  was  not  tainted  with  birth-sin.  Men 
could  scarce  keep  from  worshipping  Him.  When 
the  Pharisees  senc  to  seize  Him,  all  the  officers,  on 
His  merely  acknowledging  Himself  to  be  Him  whom 
they  sought,  fell  backwards  from  His  presence  to 
the  ground.  They  were  scared  as  brutes  are  said 
to  be  by  the  voice  of  man.  Thus,  being  created  in 
God's  image.  He  was  the  second  Adam  ;  and  much 
more  than  Adam  in  His  secret  nature,  which  beamed 
through  His  tabernacle  of  flesh  with  awful  purity 
and  brightness,  even  in  the  days  of  His  humiliation. 
"  The  first  man  was  of  the  earth,  earthy ;  the  second 
man  was  the  Lord  from  Heaven  \" 

2.  And  if  such  was  His  visible  Majesty,  while  He 
yet  was  subject  to  temptation,  infirmity,  and  pain, 
much  more  abundant  was  the  manifestation  of  His 
Godhead,  w^hen  He  was  risen  from  the  dead.  Then 
the  Divine  Essence  streamed  forth  (so  to  say)   on 

'  1  Cor.  XV.  47. 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  161 

every  side,  and  environed  His  Manhood,  as  in  a 
cloud  of  glory.  So  transfigured  was  His  Sacred 
Body,  that  He,  who  had  deigned  to  be  born  of  a 
woman,  and  to  hang  upon  the  Cross,  had  subtle  vir- 
tue in  him,  like  a  spirit,  to  pass  through  the  closed 
doors  to  His  assembled  followers ;  while,  by  conde- 
scending to  the  trial  of  their  senses.  He  showed 
that  it  was  no  mere  spirit,  but  He  Himself,  as 
before,  with  wounded  hands  and  pierced  side,  who 
spoke  to  them.  He  manifested  Himself  to  them, 
in  this  His  exalted  state,  that  they  might  be  His 
witnesses  to  the  people  ;  witnesses  of  those  separate 
truths  which  man's  reason  cannot  combine,  that  He 
had  a  real  human  body,  that  it  was  partaker  in  the 
properties  of  His  Soul,  and  that  it  was  inhabited 
by  the  Eternal  Word.  They  handled  Him, — they 
saw  Him  come  and  go,  when  the  doors  were  shut, 
— they  felt,  what  they  could  not  see,  but  could 
witness  even  unto  death,  that  He  was  "  their  Lord 
and  their  God;" — a  triple  evidence,  first,  of  His 
Atonement,  next  of  their  own  Resurrection  unto 
glory,  lastly,  of  His  Divine  Power  to  conduct  them 
safely  to  it.  Thus  manifested  as  perfect  God  and 
perfect  man,  in  the  fulness  of  His  sovereignty,  and 
the  immortality  of  His  holiness,  He  ascended  up 
on  high  to  take  possession  of  His  kingdom.  There 
He  remains  till  the  last  day,  "  Wonderful,  Coun- 
sellor, the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the 
Prince  of  Peace  \" 

'  Isa.  ix.  f). 
VOL.  II.  M 


162  EASTER-DAY.  [Serm. 

3.  He  ascended  into  heaven,  that  He  might 
plead  our  cause  with  the  Father;  as  it  is  said, 
"  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us '," 
Yet  we  must  not  suppose,  that  in  leaving  us  He 
closed  the  gracious  economy  of  His  Incarnation, 
and  withdrew  the  ministration  of  His  incorruptible 
Manhood  from  His  work  of  loving  mercy  towards 
us.  "  The  Holy  One  of  God"  was  ordained,  not 
only  to  die  for  us,  but  also  to  be  "  the  beginning"  of 
a  new  "creation"  unto  holiness,  in  our  sinful  race; 
to  re-fashion  soul  and  body  after  His  own  likeness, 
that  they  might  be  "  raised  up  together,  and  sit 
together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Blessed  for  ever  be  His  Holy  Name !  before  He 
went  away.  He  remembered  our  necessity,  and 
completed  His  work,  bequeathing  to  us  a  special 
mode  of  approaching  Him,  a  Holy  Mystery,  in 
which  we  receive,  (we  know  not  how,)  the  virtue  of 
that  Heavenly  Body,  which  is  the  life  of  all  that 
believe.  This  is  the  blessed  Sacrament  of  the 
Eucharist,  in  which  "  Christ  is  evidently  set  forth 
crucified  among  us;"  that  we,  feasting  upon  the 
Sacrifice,  may  be  "  partakers  of  the  Divine  Na- 
ture." Let  us  give  heed  lest  we  be  in  the  number 
of  those,  who  "  discern  not  the  Lord's  Body,"  and 
the  "  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises"  which 
are  made  to  those  who  partake  it.  And  since  there 
is  some  danger  of  this,  I  will  here  make  some  brief 
remarks  concerning  this  great  gift;  and  pray  God 

'  Heb.  vii.  25. 


XIIL]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  163 

that  our  words  and  thoughts  may  accord  to  its  un- 
speakable sacredness. 

Christ  says,  "  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself, 
so  hath  He  given  also  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in 
Himself;"    and  afterwards   He   says,  "  Because   I 
live,  ye  shall  live  also  ^"     It  would  seem  then,  that 
as  Adam  is  the  author  of  death  to  the  whole  race 
of  men,  so   is   Christ   the  Origin   of  immortality. 
When  Adam  ate  the  forbidden  fi-uit,  it  was  as  a 
poison  spreading  through  his  whole   nature,  soul 
and  body;  and  thence  through  every  one  of  his 
descendants.     It  was  said  to  him,   when  he  was 
placed  in  the  garden,  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die ;  and  we  are  told  ex- 
pressly, "  in  Adam  all  die."     We  all  are  born  heirs 
to  that  infection  of  nature  which  followed  upon  His 
fall.     But  we  are  also  told,  "  As  in  Adam  all  die, 
even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive  ;  and  the 
same  Law  of  God's  Providence  is  maintained  in  both 
cases.     Adam  spreads  poison ;  Christ  diffuses  life 
eternal.     Christ  communicates  life  to  us,  one   by 
one,  by  means  of  that  holy  and  incorrupt  nature 
which  He  assumed  for  our  redemption ;  how,  we 
know  not,  still,  though  by  an  unseen,  surely  by  a 
real    communication   of  Himself.      Therefore   St. 
Paul  says,  that  "the  last   Adam  w^as   made"  not 
merely  "  a  living  soul,"  but  "  a  quickening'''  or  life- 
giving  "  Spirit,"  as  being  "  the  Lord  from  Heaven  ^" 

'  John  V.  26.  xiv.  19.       '  Gen.  ii.  17-  1  Cor.  xv.  22.  45.  47. 

m2 


164  EASTER-DAY.  [Sehm. 

Again,  in  his  own  gracious  words,  He  is  "  the 
Bread  of  life."  "  The  Bread  of  God  is  He  which 
Cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto  the 
world ;"  or,  as  He  says  more  plainly,  "  I  am  the 
Bread  which  came  down  from  heaven ;"  "  I  am  that 
Bread  of  life ;"  "  I  am  the  living  Bread  which  came 
down  from  heaven ;  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread, 
he  shall  live  for  ever;  and  the  Bread  that  I  will 
give  is  My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the 
world."  And  again,  still  more  clearly,  "  Whoso 
eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  hath 
eternal  life;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last 
day\"  Why  should  this  communion  with  Him 
be  thought  incredible,  mysterious  and  sacred  as  it 
is,  when  we  know  from  the  Gospels  how  mar- 
vellously He  wrought,  in  the  days  of  His  humi- 
liation, towards  those  who  approached  Him  ?  We 
are  told  on  one  occasion ;  "  The  whole  multitude 
sought  to  touch  Him ;  for  there  went  virtue  out  of 
Him,  and  healed  them  all."  Again,  when  the 
woman,  with  the  issue  of  blood,  touched  Him,  He 
"immediately  knew  that  virtue  had  gone  out  of 
Him  ^."  Such  grace  was  invisible,  known  only  by 
the  cure  it  eflected,  as  in  the  case  of  the  woman. 
Let  us  not  doubt,  though  we  do  not  sensibly 
approach  Him,  that  He  can  still  give  us  the  vir- 
tue of  His   purity   and   incorruption,  as    He  has 

^  John  vi.  33—54.  *  Luke  vi.  19.    Mark  v.  30.    Vide 

Knox  on  the  Eucharist.     Remains,  vol.  ii. 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  aUICKENING  SPIRIT.  16.5 

promised,  and  in  a  more  heavenly  and  spiritual 
manner,  than  "  in  the  days  of  His  flesh ;"  in  a 
way,  which  does  not  remove  the  mere  ailments  of 
this  temporal  state,  but  sows  the  seed  of  eternal  life 
in  body  and  soul.  Let  us  not  deny  Him  the  glory 
of  His  life-giving  holiness,  that  diffusive  grace 
which  is  the  renovation  of  our  whole  race,  a  spirit 
quick  and  powerful  and  piercing,  so  as  to  leaven 
the  whole  mass  of  human  corruption,  and  make  it 
live.  He  is  the  first  fruits  of  the  Resurrection ;  we 
follow  Him  each  in  his  own  order,  as  we  are  hal- 
lowed by  His  inward  presence.  And  in  this  sense 
among  others,  Christ,  in  the  Scripture  phrase,  is 
"  formed  in  us ;"  that  is,  the  communication  is 
made  to  us  of  His  new  nature,  which  sanctifies  the 
soul,  and  makes  the  body  immortal.  In  like  man- 
ner we  pray  in  the  Service  of  the  Communion,  that 
"  our  sinful  bodies  may  be  made  clean  by  His 
body,  and  our  souls  washed  through  His  most  pre- 
cious blood ;  and  that  we  may  evermore  dwell  in 
Him,  and  He  in  us  '." 

Such  then  is  our  risen  Saviour  in  Himself  and 
towards  us : — conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  holy 
from  the  womb ;  dying,  but  abhorring  corruption ; 
rising  again  the  third  day  by  His  own  inherent  life ; 
exalted  as  the  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man,  to 
raise  us  after  Him;  and  filling  us  incomprehen- 
sibly with  His    immortal  nature,  till  we   become 

'  Vide  note  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


166  EASTER-DAY.  [Serm. 

like  Him,  filling  us  with  a  spiritual  life  which  may 
expel  the  poison  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and 
restore  us  to  God.  How  wonderful  a  work  of 
grace  !  Strange  it  was  that  Adam  should  be  our 
death;  but  stranger  still,  and  very  gracious,  that 
God  Himself  should  be  our  life,  by  means  of  that 
human  tabernacle  which  He  has  taken  on  Himself. 
O  blessed  day  of  the  Resurrection,  which  of  old 
time  was  called  the  Queen  of  Festivals,  and  raised 
among  Christians  an  anxious,  nay  contentious  dili- 
gence duly  to  honour  it !  Blessed  day,  once  only 
passed  in  sorrow,  when  the  Lord  actually  rose,  and 
the  Disciples  believed  not ;  but  ever  since  a  day  of 
joy  to  the  faith  and  love  of  the  Church  !  In  an- 
cient times  Christians  all  over  the  world  began  it 
with  a  morning  salutation.  Each  man  said  to  his 
neighbour,  "  Christ  is  risen,"  and  his  neighbour 
^  answered  him ;  "  Christ  is  risen  indeed,  and  hath 
appeared  unto  Simon."  Even  to  Simon,  the  coward 
disciple  who  denied  Him  thrice,  Christ  is  risen ; 
even  to  us,  who  long  ago  vowed  to  obey  Him, 
and  have  yet  so  often  denied  Him  before  men, 
so  often  taken  part  with  sin,  and  followed  the  world, 
when  Christ  called  us  another  way. — "  Christ  is 
risen  indeed,  and  hath  appeared  to  Simon !"  to 
Simon  Peter,  the  favoured  Apostle,  on  whom  the 
Church  is  built,  Christ  has  appeared.  He  has 
appeared  to  His  Holy  Church  first  of  all,  and  in 
the  Church  He  dispenses  blessings,  such  as  the 
world  knows  not   of      Blessed  are   they  if  they 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  167 

knew   their  blessedness,    who   are   allowed  as  we 
are,  week  after  week,  and  Festival  after  Festival,  to 
seek  and  find  in  that  Holy  Church  the  Saviour  of 
their  souls !     Blessed  are  they  beyond  language  or 
thought,  to  whom  it  is  vouchsafed  to  receive  those 
tokens  of  His  love,    which   cannot   otherwise  be 
gained  by  man,  the  pledges  and  means  of  His  special 
presence,  in  the  Sacrament   of  His  Supper;  who 
are  allowed  to  eat  and  drink  the  food  of  immor- 
tality, and  receive  life  from  the  bleeding  side  of 
the  Son  of  God !     Alas !  by  what  strange  coldness 
of  heart,  or  perverse  superstition  is  it,  that  any  one 
called  Christian,  keeps  away  from   that  heavenly 
ordinance?      Is  it  not   very  grievous   that   there 
should  be  any  one    who    fears    to    share    in    the 
greatest   conceivable   blessing   which   could  come 
upon  sinful  men?     What  in  truth  is  that  fear,  but 
unbelief,  a  slavish  sin-loving  obstinacy,  if  it  leads 
a  man  to  go  year  after  year  without  the  spiritual 
sustenance  which  God  has  provided  for  him?     Is 
it  wonderful  that,  as  time  goes  on,  he  should  learn 
deliberately  to  doubt  of  the  grace  therein  given  ? 
that  he  should  no  longer   look  upon  the  Lord's 
Supper  as  a  heavenly  feast,  or  the  Lord's  Minister 
who  consecrates  it,  as  a  chosen  vessel,  or  that  Holy 
Church  in  which  he  ministers  as  a  Divine  Ordi- 
nance, to   be  cherished  as  the  parting   legacy   of 
Christ  to  a  sinful  world?     Is  it   wonderful   that 
seeing  he  sees  not,  and  hearing  he  hears  not ;  and 
that,   lightly  regarding  all  the  gifts  of  Christ,  he 


168  EASTER-DAY.  [Serm. 

feels  no  reverence  for  the  treasure-house  wherein 
they  are  stored  ? 

But  we,  who  trust  that  so  far  we  are  doing  God's 
will,  inasmuch  as  we  are  keeping  to  those  ordinances 
and   rules,  which  His  Son  has   left   us,   we  may 
humbly  rejoice  in  this  day,  with  a  joy  the  world  can- 
not take  away,  any  more  than  it  can  understand. 
Truly,  in  this  time  of  rebuke  and  blasphemy,  we  can- 
not but  be  sober  and  subdued  in  our  rejoicing ;  yet 
our  peace  and  joy  may  be  deeper  and  fuller  even  for 
that  very  seriousness.     For  nothing  can  harm  those 
who  bear  Christ  within  them.     Trial  or  temptation, 
time  of  tribulation,  time  of  wealth,  pain,  bereave- 
ment, anxiety,  sorrow,  the  insults  of  the  enemy,  the 
loss  of  worldly  goods,  nothing  can  "  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord  ^"     This  the  Apostle  told  us  long  since ;  but 
we,  in  this  age  of  the  world,  over  and  above  his 
word,  have  the  experience  of  many  centuries  for 
our  comfort.     We  have  his  own  history  to  show  us 
how  Christ  within  us  is  stronger  than  the  world 
around  us,  and  will  prevail.     We  have  the  history 
of  all  his  fellow-sufferers,  of  all  the  Confessors  and 
Martyrs  of  early  times,  and  since,  to  show  us  that 
Christ's  arm  "  is  not  shortened,  that  it  cannot  save ;" 
that  faith  and  love  have  a  real  abiding  place  on 
earth ;  that,  come  what  will.  His  grace  is  sufficient 
for  His  Church,  and  His  strength  made  perfect  in 

'  Rom.  viii.  39. 


XIII.]  CHRIST,  A  QUICKENING  SPIRIT.  169 

weakness ;  that,  "  even  to  old  age,  and  to  hoar 
hairs,  He  will  carry  and  deliver"  her  ;  that,  in  what- 
ever time  the  powers  of  evil  give  challenge,  Martyrs 
and  Saints  will  start  forth  again,  and  rise  from  the 
dead,  as  plentiful  as  though  they  had  never  been 
before,  even  "  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded 
for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither 
his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their 
foreheads,  or  in  their  hands  ^" 

Meantime,  while  Satan  only  threatens,  let  us 
possess  our  hearts  in  patience ;  try  to  keep  quiet ; 
aim  at  obeying  God,  in  all  things,  little  as  well  as 
great ;  do  the  duties  of  our  calling  which  lie  before 
us,  day  by  day;  and  "  take  no  thought  for  the 
morrow,  for  sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil 
thereof  2." 


*  Rev.  XX.  4.  "  Matt.  vi.  34. 


SERMON    XIV. 


MONDAY  IN  EASTER  WEEK. 
SAVING  KNOWLEDGE. 


1  John  ii.  3. 


Hereby  do  you  know  that  we  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His 
commandments. 

To  know  God  and  Christ,  in  Scripture  language, 
seems  to  mean,  to  live  imder  the  conviction  of  His 
presence,  vrho  is  to  our  bodily  eyes  unseen.  It  is, 
in  fact,  to  have  faith,  according  to  St.  Paul's  ac- 
count of  faith,  as  the  substance  and  evidence  of 
what  is  invisible.  Jt  is  faith,  but  not  faith  such  as 
a  Heathen  might  have,  but  Gospel  faith ;  for  only 
in  the  Gospel  has  God  so  revealed  Himself,  as  to 
allow  of  that  kind  of  faith  which  may  be  called, 
in  a  special  manner,  knowledge.  The  faith  of 
Heathens  was  blind ;  it  was  more  or  less  a  moving 
forward  in  the  darkness,  with  hand  and  foot; — 
therefore  the  Apostle  says,  "  if  haply  they  might /eel 
after  Him '."    But  the  Gospel  is  a  manifestation,  and 

'  Acts  xvii.  27. 


Seem.  XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  171 

therefore  addressed  to  the  eyes  of  our  mind.  Faith 
is  the  same  principle  as  before,  but  with  the  opportu- 
nity of  acting  through  a  more  certain  and  satisfac- 
tory sense.  We  recognise  objects  by  the  eye  at 
once ;  but  not  by  the  touch.  We  know  them  when 
we  see  them,  but  scarcely  till  then.  Hence  it  is, 
that  the  New  Testament  says  so  much  on  the  sub- 
ject of  spiritual  knowledge.  For  instance,  St.  Paul 
prays  that  the  Ephesians  may  receive  "  the  spirit 
of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  the  eyes  of  their  understanding  being  en- 
lightened;" and  he  says,  that  the  Colossians  had 
"  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in 
knowledge,  after  the  image  of  Him  that  created 
him."  St.  Peter,  in  like  manner,  addresses  his 
brethren  with  the  salutation  of  "  Grace  and 
peace,  through  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Jesus 
our  Lord ;"  according  to  the  declaration  of  our  Lord 
Himself,  "  This  is  life  eternal,  to  know  Thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast  sent  \" 
Not  of  course  as  if  Christian  faith  had  not  still 
abundant  exercise  for  the  other  senses  (so  to  call 
them)  of  the  soul ;  but  that  the  eye  is  its  peculiar 
sense,  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  the  faith  of 
Heathens,  nay,  I  may  add,  of  Jews. 

It  is  plain  what  is  the  Object  of  spiritual  sight 
which  is  vouchsafed  us  in  the  Gospel, — "  God  mani- 
fest in  the  Flesh."     He  who  was  before  unseen  has 

'  Eph.  i.  17,  18.     Col.  iii.  10.     2  Pet.  i.  2.     John  xvii.  3. 


172  EASTER  MONDAY.  [Serm. 

shown  himself  in  Christ ;  not  merely  displayed  His 
glory,  as  (for  instance)  in  what  is  called  a  provi- 
dence, or  visitation,  or  in  miracles,  or  in  the  actions 
and  character  of  inspired  men,  but  really  He  Him- 
self has  come  upon  earth,  and  has  been  seen  of  men 
in  human  form.  In  the  same  kind  of  sense,  in 
which  we  should  say  we  saw  a  servant  of  His, 
Apostle  or  prophet,  though  we  could  not  see  his 
soul,  so  man  has  seen  the  Invisible  God ;  and  we 
have  the  history  of  His  sojourn  among  His  crea- 
tures in  the  Gospels. 

To  know  God  is  life  eternal,  and  to  believe  in 
the  Gospel  manifestation  of  Him  is  to  know  Him ; 
but  how  are  we  to  "  know -that  we  know  Him  ?" 
How  are  we  to  be  sure  that  we  are  not  mistaking 
some  dream  of  our  own  for  the  true  and  clear  Vi- 
sion ?  How  can  we  tell  we  are  not  like  gazers  upon 
a  distant  prospect  through  a  misty  atmosphere,  who 
mistake  one  object  for  another?  The  text  answers 
us  clearly  and  intelligibly ;  though  some  Christians 
have  recourse  to  other  proofs  of  it,  or  will  not  have 
patience  to  ask  themselves  the  question.  They  say 
they  are  quite  certain  that  they  have  true  faith ; 
for  faith  carries  with  it  its  own  evidence,  and  ad- 
mits of  no  mistaking,  the  true  spiritual  conviction 
being  unlike  all  others.  On  the  other  hand,  St.  i 
John  says,  "  Hereby  do  we  know  that  we  know  I 
Him,  if  we  keep  His  commandments."  Obedience 
is  the  test  of  Faith. 

Thus  the  whole  duty  and  work  of  a  Christian  is 


XIV]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  173 

made  up  of  these  two  parts,  Faith  and  Obedience ; 
"  looking  unto  Jesus,"  the  Divine  Object  as  well  as 
Author  of  our  faith,  and  acting  according  to  His 
will.  Not  as  if  a  certain  frame  of  mind,  certain 
notions,  affections,  feelings,  and  states,  were  not  a 
necessary  condition  of  a  saving  state ;  but  so  it  is, 
the  Apostle  does  not  insist  upon  it,  as  if  it  were 
sure  to  follow,  if  our  hearts  do  but  grow  into  these 
two  chief  contemplations,  the  view  of  God  in  Christ, 
and  the  diligent  aim  to  obey  Him  in  our  conduct. 

I  conceive  that  we  are  in  danger,  in  this  day,  of 
insisting  on  neither  of  these  as  we  ought ;  regarding 
all  true  and  careful  consideration  of  the  Object  of 
faith,  as  barren  orthodoxy,  technical  subtlety,  and 
the  like,  and  all  due  earnestness  about  good  works 
as  a  mere  cold  and  formal  morality ;  and,  instead, 
making  religion,  or  rather  (for  this  is  the  point) 
making  the  test  of  our  being  religious,  to  consist  in 
our  having  what  is  called  a  spiritual  state  of  heart,  to 
the  comparative  neglect  of  the  Object  from  which  it 
must  arise,  and  the  works  in  which  it  should  issue. 
At  this  season,  when  we  are  especially  engaged  in 
considering  the  full  triumph  and  manifestation  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour,  when  He  was  "  declared  to 
be  the  Son  of  ^God  with  power,  by  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead,"  it  may  be  appropriate  to  make  some 
remarks  on  an  error,  which  goes  far  to  deprive  us 
of  the  benefit  of  His  condescension. 

St.  John  speaks  of  knowing  Christ  and  of  keep- 
ing His  commandments,  as  the  two  great  depart- 


174  EASTER  MONDAY.  [Serm. 

ments  of  religious  duty  and  blessedness.  To  know 
Christ  is,  (as  I  have  said,)  to  discern  the  Father  of 
all,  as  manifested  through  His  Only-begotten  Son 
Incarnate.  In  the  natural  world  we  have  glimpses, 
frequent  and  startling,  of  His  glorious  Attributes ; 
of  His  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  of  His  holi- 
ness, His  fearful  judgments.  His  long  remembrance 
of  evil.  His  long-suffering  towards  sinners,  and  His 
strange  encompassing  mercy,  when  we  least  looked 
for  it.  But  to  us  mortals,  who  live  for  a  day,  and 
see  but  an  arm's  length,  such  disclosures  are  like 
reflections  of  a  prospect  in  a  broken  mirror ;  they 
do  not  enable  us  in  any  comfortable  sense  to  know 
God.  They  are  such  as  faith  may  use  indeed,  but 
hardly  enjoy.  This  then  was  one  among  the  bene- 
fits of  Christ's  coming,  that  the  Invisible  God  was 
then  revealed  in  the  form  and  history  of  man, 
revealed  in  those  respects  in  which  sinners  most 
required  to  know  Him,  and  nature  spoke  least  dis- 
tinctly, as  a  Holy,  yet  Merciful  Governor  of  His 
creatures.  And  thus  the  Gospels,  which  contain  the 
memorials  of  this  wonderful  grace,  are  our  principal 
treasures.  They  may  be  called  the  text  of  the  Re- 
velation ;  and  the  Epistles,  especially  St.  Paul's, 
are  as  comments  upon  it,  unfolding  and  illustrating 
it  in  its  various  parts,  raising  history  into  doctrine, 
ordinances  into  sacraments,  detached  words  or  ac- 
tions into  principles,  and  thus  every  where  dutifully 
preaching  His  Person,  work,  and  will.  St.  John  is 
both  Prophet  and  Evangelist,  recording  and  com- 

1 


XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  175 

meriting  on  the  Ministry  of  his  Lord.  Still,  in 
every  case,  He  is  the  chief  Prophet  of  the  Church, 
and  His  Apostles  do  but  explain  His  words  and  ac- 
tions ;  according  to  His  own  account  of  the  guid- 
ance promised  to  them,  that  it  should  "glorify" 
Him.  The  like  service  is  ministered  to  Him  by  the 
Creeds  and  doctrinal  expositions  of  the  early 
Church,  which  we  retain  in  our  Services.  They 
speak  of  no  ideal  being,  such  as  the  imagination 
alone  contemplates,  but  of  the  very  Son  of  God, 
whose  life  is  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  Thus  every 
part  of  the  Dispensation  tends  to  the  manifestation 
of  Him,  who  is  its  centre. 

Turning  from  Him  to  ourselves,  we  find  a  short 
rule  given  us,  "  If  ye  love  Me,  keep  My  com- 
mandments." "  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  Him, 
ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked." 
"  If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things 
which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  riofht 
hand  of  God '."  This  is  all  that  is  put  upon  us, 
difficult  indeed  to  perform,  but  easy  to  understand ; 
all  that  is  put  upon  us, — and  for  this  plain  reason, 
because  Christ  has  done  every  thing  else.  He  has 
freely  chosen  us,  died  for  us,  regenerated  us,  and 
now  ever  liveth  for  us ;  what  remains  ?  Simply  that 
we  should  do  as  He  has  done  to  us,  showing  forth 
His  glory  by  good  works.  Thus  a  correct,  or  (as 
we  commonly  call  it,)  an  orthodox  faith  and  an 

•  John  xiv.  15.     1  John  ii.  6.     Col.  iii.  1. 


176  EASTER  MONDAY.  [Sekm. 

obedient  life,  is  the  whole  duty  of  man.  And  so, 
most  surely,  it  has  ever  been  accounted.  Look 
into  the  records  of  the  early  Church,  or  into  the 
writings  of  our  own  revered  Bishops  and  Teachers, 
and  see  whether  this  is  not  the  sum  total  of  re- 
ligion, according  to  the  symbols  of  it  in  which 
children  are  catechized,  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments. 

However,  it  is  objected  that  such  a  view  of  reli- 
gious duty  encourages  self-deception ;  that  a  man 
who  does  no  more  than  believe  aright,  and  keep 
God's  commandments,  is  what  is  called  a  formalist ; 
that  his  heart  is  not  interested  in  the  matter,  his 
affections  remain  unrenewed ;  and  that  till  a 
change  takes  place  there,  all  the  faith  and  all  the 
obedience  which  mind  can  conceive,  are  but  exter- 
nal, and  avail  nothing;  that  to  his  heart  therefore 
we  must  make  our  appeal,  that  we  must  bid  him 
search  himself,  examine  his  motives,  look  narrowly 
lest  he  rest  upon  himself,  and  be  sure  that  his  feel- 
ings and  thoughts  are  spiritual  before  he  takes  to 
himself  any  comfort.  The  merits  of  this  view  of 
religion  shall  be  considered  hereafter ;  at  present, 
let  us  take  it  merely  in  the  light  of  an  objection  to 
what  has  been  already  stated.  I  ask  then  in  reply, 
how  is  a  man  to  know  that  his  motives  and  affections 
are  right  except  by  their  fruits  ?  Can  they  possibly 
be  their  own  evidence  ?  Are  they  like  colours,  which 
a  man  knows  at  once  without  test  or  calculation  ? 
Is  not  every  feeling  and  opinion,  of  one  colour  or 


XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  177 

another,  fair  or  unpleasant,  in  each  man's  own 
judgment,  according  to  the  centre  light  which  is  set 
up  in  his  soul  ?  Is  not  the  light  that  is  in  a  man 
sometimes  even  darkness,  sometimes  twilight,  and 
sometimes  of  this  hue  or  that,  tinging  every  part 
of  himself  with  its  own  peculiarity?  How  then 
is  it  possible  that  a  man  can  duly  examine  his  feel- 
ings and  affections  by  the  light  within  him?  how 
can  he  accurately  decide  upon  their  character, 
whether  Christian  or  not?  It  is  necessary  then 
that  he  go  out  of  himself  in  order  to  assay  and 
ascertain  the  nature  of  the  principles  which  govern 
him ;  that  is,  he  must  have  recourse  to  his  works, 
and  compare  them  with  Scripture,  as  the  only 
evidence  to  himself,  whether  or  not  his  heart  is 
perfect  with  God.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the 
proposed  inquiry  into  the  workings  of  a  man's  mind 
means  nothing  at  all,  comes  to  no  issue,  leaves  us 
where  it  found  us ;  unless  we  adopt  the  notion, 
(which  is  seldom  however  openly  maintained,)  that 
religious  faith  is  its  own  evidence. 

On  the  other  hand,  deeds  of  obedience  are  an 
intelligible  evidence,  nay,  the  sole  evidence  pos- 
sible, and,  on  the  whole,  a  satisfactory  evidence  of 
the  reality  of  our  faith.  I  do  not  say,  that  this  or 
that  good  work  tells  any  thing ;  but  a  course  of 
obedience  says  much.  Various  deeds  done  in  dif- 
ferent departments  of  duty,  support  and  attest  each 
other.  Did  a  man  act  merely  a  bold  and  firm  part, 
he  would  have  cause  to  say  to  himself,  "  perhaps 

VOL.  II.  N 


178  EASTER-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

all  this  is  mere  pride  and  obstinacy."  Were  he 
merely  yielding  and  forgiving, — ^he  might  be  indulg- 
ing a  natural  indolence  of  mind.  Were  he  merely 
industrious, — this  might  consist  with  ill-temper,  or 
selfishness.  Did  he  merely  fulfil  the  duties  of  his 
temporal  calling, — he  would  have  no  proof  that  he 
had  given  his  heart  to  God  at  all.  Were  he  merely 
regular  at  Church  and  Holy  Communion, — many  a 
man  is  such  who  has  a  lax  conscience,  who  is  not 
scrupulously  fair-dealing,  or  is  censorious,  or  nig- 
gardly. Is  he  what  is  called  a  domestic  character, 
amiable,  affectionate,  fond  of  his  family  ?  let  him 
beware  lest  he  put  wife  and  children  in  the  place 
of  God  who  gave  them.  Is  he  only  temperate, 
sober,  chaste,  correct  in  his  language?  it  may  arise 
from  mere  dulness  and  insensibility,  or  may  consist 
with  spiritual  pride.  Is  he  cheerful  and  obliging  ? 
it  may  arise  from  youthful  spirits  and  ignorance  of 
the  world.  Does  he  choose  his  friends  by  a  strictly 
orthodox  rule  ?  he  may  be  harsh  and  uncharitable  ; 
or,  is  he  zealous  and  serviceable  in  defending  the 
Truth  ?  still  he  may  be  unable  to  condescend  to 
men  of  low  estate,  to  rejoice  with  those  who  rejoice, 
and  to  weep  vdth  those  who  weep.  No  one  is 
without  some  good  quality  or  other ;  Balaam  had 
a  scruple  about  misrepresenting  God's  message, 
Saul  was  brave,  Joab  was  loyal,  the  Bethel  Pro- 
phet reverenced  God's  servants,  the  witch  of  Endor 
was  hospitable;  and  therefore,  of  course,  no  one 
good  deed  or  disposition  is  the  criterion  of  a  spiritual ! 


XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  179 

mind.  Still,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  one  of 
its  characteristics  which  has  not  its  appropriate  out- 
ward evidence ;  and,  in  proportion  as  these  exter- 
nal acts  are  multiplied  and  varied,  so  does  the 
evidence  of  it  become  stronger  and  more  consoling. 
General  conscientiousness  is  the  only  assurance  we 
can  have  of  possessing  it;  and  at  this  we  must 
aim,  determining  to  obey  God  consistently,  with  a 
jealous  carefulness  about  all  things,  little  and  great. 
This  is,  in  Scripture  language,  to  "  serve  God  with 
a  perfect  heart;"  as  you  will  see  at  once,  if  you 
compare  the  respective  reformations  of  Jehu  and 
Josiah.  As  far  then  as  a  man  has  reason  to  hope 
that  he  is  consistent,  so  far  may  he  humbly  trust 
that  he  has  true  faith.  To  be  consistent,  to 
"  walk  in  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless," 
is  his  one  business;  still,  all  along  looking  reve- 
rently towards  the  Great  Objects  of  faith,  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  Three  Per- 
sons, One  God,  and  the  Son  Incarnate,  for  our  sal- 
vation. Certainly  he  will  have  enough  to  direct 
his  course  by,  with  God  in  his  eye,  and  his  work  in 
his  hand,  though  he  forbear  curious  experiments 
about  his  sensations  and  emotions;  and,  if  it  be 
objected  that  an  evidence  from  works  is  but  a  cold 
comfort,  as  being  at  best  but  faint  and  partial,  I 
reply,  that  after  all,  it  is  more  than  sinners  have  a 
right  to  ask, — that  if  it  be  little  at  first,  it  grows 
with  our  growth  in  grace, — and,  moreover,  that  such 
an  evidence,  more  than  any  other,   throws  us  in 

N  2 


180  EASTER-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

faith  upon  the  loving-kindness  and  meritorious  suf- 
ferings of  our  Saviour.  Surely,  even  our  best  doings 
have  that  taint  of  sinfulness  pervading  them,  which 
will  remind  us  ever,  while  we  regard  them,  where 
our  True  Hope  is  lodged.  Men  are  satisfied  with 
themselves,  not  when  they  attempt,  but  when  they 
neglect  the  details  of  duty.  Disobedience  blinds 
the  conscience ;  obedience  makes  it  keen-sighted 
and  sensitive.  The  more  we  do,  the  more  we  shall 
trust  in  Christ ;  and,  that  surely  is  no  morose  doc- 
trine, which,  after  giving  us  whatever  evidence  of 
our  safety  can  be  given,  leads  us  to  soothe  our 
selfish  restlessness,  and  forget  our  fears  in  the  vision 
of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  objected,  that,  since  many 
deeds  of  obedience  are  themselves  acts  of  the  mind, 
to  do  them  well  we  must  necessarily  examine  our 
feelings;  that  we  cannot  pray,  for  instance,  with- 
out reflecting  on  ourselves  as  we  use  the  words  of 
prayer,  and  keeping  our  thoughts  upon  God  ;  that 
we  cannot  repress  anger  or  impatience,  or  cherish 
loving  and  forgiving  thoughts,  without  searching 
and  watching:  ourselves.  But  such  an  arofument 
rests  on  a  misconception  of  what  I  have  been  say- 
ing. All  I  would  maintain  is,  that  our  duty  lies  in 
acts, — acts,  of  course  of  every  kind,  acts  of  the  mind, 
as  well  as  of  the  tongue,  or  of  the  hand ;  but  any 
how  it  lies  mainly  in  acts ;  it  does  not  directly  lie 
in  moods  or  feelings.  He  who  aims  at  praying  well, 
loving  sincerely,  disputing  meekly,  as  the  respec- 


XIV.]  SAVING  KNOWLEDGE.  181 

tive  duties  occur,  is  wise  and  religious;  but  he 
who  aims  vaguely  and  generally  at  being  in  a 
spiritual  frame  of  mind,  is  entangled  in  a  deceit  of 
words,  which  gain  a  meaning  only  by  being  made 
mischievous.  Let  us  do  our  duty  as  it  presents 
itself;  this  is  the  secret  of  true  faith  and  peace. 
We  have  power  over  our  deeds,  under  God's  grace ; 
we  have  no  direct  power  over  our  habits.  Let  us 
but  secure  our  actions,  as  God  would  have  them, 
and  our  habits  will  follow.  Suppose  a  religious  man, 
for  instance,  in  the  society  of  strangers ;  he  takes 
things  as  they  come,  discourses  naturally,  gives  his 
opinion  soberly,  and  does  good  according  to  each 
opportunity  of  good.  His  heart  is  in  his  work,  and 
his  thoughts  rest  without  effort  on  his  God  and 
Saviour.  This  is  the  way  of  a  Christian ;  he  leaves 
it  to  the  ill-instructed  to  endeavour  after  a  (so 
called)  spiritual  frame  of  mind  amid  the  bustle  of 
life,  which  has  no  existence  except  in  attempt  and 
profession.  True  spiritual-mindedness  is  unseen  by 
man,  like  the  soul  itself,  of  which  it  is  a  quality ; 
and  as  the  soul  is  known  by  its  operations,  so  it  is 
known  by  its  fruits. 

I  will  add  too  that  the  office  of  self-examination 
lies  rather  in  detecting  what  is  bad  in  us  than  in 
ascertaining  what  is  good.  No  harm  can  follow 
from  contemplating  our  sins,  so  that  we  keep  Christ 
before  us,  and  attempt  to  overcome  them ;  such  a 
review  of  self,  will  but  lead  to  repentance  and  faith. 
And  while  it    does    this,    it    will  undoubtedly  be 


182  EASTER- MONDAY.  [Serm.  XIV. 

moulding  our  hearts  into  a  higher  and  more  heavenly 
state;  but  still  indirectly, — -just  as  the  mean  is 
attained  in  action  or  art,  not  by  directly  contem- 
plating and  aiming  at  it,  but  negatively,  by  avoiding 
extremes. 

To  conclude,  the  essence  of  Faith  is  to  look 
out  of  ourselves ;  now,  consider  what  manner  of  a 
believer  he  is,  who  imprisons  himself  in  his  own 
thoughts,  and  rests  on  the  workings  of  his  own 
mind,  and  thinks  of  his  Saviour  as  an  idea  of  his 
imagination,  instead  of  putting  self  aside,  and  living 
upon  Him  who  speaks  in  the  Gospels. 

So  much  then,  by  way  of  suggestion,  upon  the 
view  of  Religious  Faith,  which  has  ever  been  re- 
ceived in  the  Church  Catholic,  and  which,  doubt- 
less, is  saving.  To-morrow,  I  propose,  to  speak 
more  particularly  of  that  other  system,  to  which 
these  latter  times  have  given  birth. 


^^sU  Mil 


1 


SERMON  XV. 


TUESDAY  IN  EASTER  WEEK. 
SELF-CONTEMPLATION. 


Hebrews  xii.  2. 
Looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith. 

Surely  it  is  our  duty  ever  to  look  off  ourselves,  and 
to  look  unto  Jesus  ;  that  is,  to  shun  the  contempla- 
tion of  our  own  feelings,  emotions,  frame,  and  state 
of  mind,  as  if  it  were  the  main  business  of  religion, 
and  to  leave  these  mainly  to  be  secured  in  their 
fruits.  Some  remarks  were  made  yesterday  upon 
this  "  more  excellent"  and  Scriptural  way  of  con- 
ducting ourselves,  as  it  has  ever  been  received  in 
the  Church ;  now  let  us  consider  the  merits  of  the 
rule  for  holy  living,  which  the  fashion  of  this  day 
would  substitute  for  it. 

Instead  of  looking  off  to  Jesus,  and  thinking  little 
of  ourselves,  it  is  at  present  thought  necessary 
among  the  mixed  multitude  of  religionists,  to  exa- 
mine the  heart,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  whether 
it  is  in  a  spiritual  state  or  no.     A  spiritual  frame 


\ 


184  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

of  mind  is  considered  to  be  one  in  which  the 
heinousness  of  sin  is  perceived,  our  utter  worthless- 
ness,  the  impossibility  of  our  saving  ourselves,  the 
necessity  of  some  Saviour,  the  sufficiency  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  that  Saviour,  the  un- 
bounded riches  of  His  love,  the  excellence  and 
glory  of  His  work  of  Atonement,  the  freeness  and 
fulness  of  His  grace,  the  high  privilege  of  commu- 
nion with  Him  in  prayer,  and  the  desirableness  of 
walking  with  Him  in  all  holy  and  loving  obe- 
dience ;  all  of  them  solemn  truths,  too  solemn  to 
be  lightly  mentioned,  but  our  hearty  reception  of 
which  is  scarcely  ascertainable  by  a  direct  inspec- 
tion of  our  feelings.  Moreover,  if  one  doctrine 
must  be  selected  above  the  rest  as  containing  the 
essence  of  the  truths,  which,  (according  to  this 
system,)  are  thus  vividly  understood  by  the  spiri- 
tual Christian,  it  is  that  of  the  necessity  of  renounc- 
ing our  own  righteousness  for  the  righteousness 
provided  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour ;  which  is  con- 
sidered, not  as  an  elementary  and  simple  principle, 
(as  it  really  is,)  but  as  rarely  and  hardly  acknow- 
ledged by  any  man,  especially  repugnant  to  a 
certain  (so-called)  pride  of  heart,  which  is  supposed 
to  run  through  the  whole  race  of  Adam,  and  to  lead 
every  man  instinctively  to  insist  even  before  God 
on  the  proper  merits  of  his  good  deeds  ;  so  that,  to 
trust  in  Christ,  is  not  merely  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  (as  all  good  in  our  souls  is,)  but,  is  the  espe- 
cial and  critical  event  which  marks  a  marr,  as  issu- 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  185 

iug  from  darkness,  and  sealed  unto  the  privileges 
and  inheritance  of  the  sons  of  God.  In  other 
words,  the  doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith,  is 
accounted  to  be  the  one  cardinal  point  of  the 
Gospel ;  and  it  is  in  vain  to  admit  it  readily  as  a 
clear  Scripture  truth  (which  it  is,)  and  to  attempt 
to  go  on  unto  perfection :  the  very  wish  to  pass  for- 
ward is  interpreted  into  a  wish  to  pass  over  it,  and 
the  test  of  believing  it  at  all,  is  in  fact  to  insist  upon 
no  doctrine  but  it.  And  this  peculiar  mode  of 
inculcating  that  great  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  is  a 
proof,  (if  that  were  wanting,)  that  the  persons  who 
adopt  it  are  not  solicitous  even  about  it  on  its  own 
score  merely,  considered  as  (what  is  called)  a 
dogma,  but  as  ascertaining  and  securing  (as  they 
hope)  a  certain  state  of  heart.  For,  not  content 
with  the  simple  admission  of  it  on  the  part  of  an- 
other, they  proceed  to  divide  faith  into  its  kinds, 
living  and  dead,  and  to  urge  against  him,  that  the 
Truth  may  be  held  in  a  carnal  and  unrenewed 
mind,  and  that  men  may  speak  without  real  feel- 
ings and  convictions.  Thus  it  is  clear  they  do 
not  contend  for  the  doctrine  of  Justification  as  a 
truth  external  to  the  mind,  or  article  of  faith,  any 
more  than  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  On  the 
other  hand,  since  they  use  this  same  language 
about  dead  and  living  faith,  however  exemplary  the 
life  and  conduct  be  of  the  individual  under  their 
review,  they  as  plainly  show  that  neither  are  the 
fruits  of  righteousness  in  their  system  an  evidence 


186  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

of  spiritual-miiidedness,  but  that  a  something  is  to 
be  sought  for  in  the  frame  of  mind  itself.  All  this 
is  not  stated  at  present  by  way  of  objection,  but  in 
order  to  settle  accurately  what  they  mean  to  main- 
tain. So  now  we  have  the  two  views  of  doctrine 
clearly  before  us :  —  the  ancient  and  universal 
teaching  of  the  Church,  insisting  on  the  Objects 
and  fruits  of  faith,  and  considering  the  spiritual 
character  of  that  faith  itself  sufficiently  secured,  if 
these  are  as  they  should  be ;  and  the  method,  now 
in  esteem,  attempting  instead  to  secure  directly  and 
primarily  that  "  mind  of  the  Spirit,"  which  may 
savingly  receive  the  truths,  and  fulfil  the  obedience 
of  the  Gospel.  That  such  a  spiritual  temper  is 
indispensable,  is  agreed  on  all  hands.  The  simple 
question  is,  whether  it  is  formed  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
immediately  acting  upon  our  minds,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  our  own  particular  acts,  (whether  of  faith 
or  obedience,)  prompted,  guided,  and  prospered  by 
Him;  whether  it  is  ascertainable  otherwise  than 
by  its  fruits ;  whether  such  frames  of  mind  as  are 
directly  ascertainable  and  profess  to  be  spiritual,  are 
not  rather  a  delusion,  a  mere  excitement,  capricious 
feeling,  fanatic  fancy,  and  the  like. — So  much  then 
by  way  of  explanation. 

1.  Now,  in  the  first  place,  this  modem  system 
certainly  does  disparage  the  revealed  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel,  however  its  more  moderate  advocates 
may  think  from  admitting  it.  Considering  a  cer- 
tain state  of  heart  to  be  the  main  thing  to  be  aimed 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  l87 

at,  they  avowedly  make  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
the  definite  Creed  of  the  Church,  second  in  their 
teaching  and  profession.  They  will  defend  them- 
selves indeed  from  the  appearance  of  undervaluing 
it,  by  maintaining,  that  the  existence  of  right  reli- 
gious affections  is  a  security  for  sound  views  of  doc- 
trine. And  this  is  abstractedly  true ; — but  not  true 
in  the  use  they  make  of  it :  for  they  unhappily 
conceive  that  they  can  ascertain  in  each  other  the 
presence  of  these  affections,  and  when  they  find 
men  possessed  of  them,  (as  they  conceive,)  yet  not 
altogether  orthodox  in  their  belief,  then  they  relax 
a  little,  and  argue  that  an  admission  of  (what  they 
call)  the  strict  and  technical  niceties  of  doctrine, 
whether  about  the  Consubstantiality  of  the  Son  or 
the  Hypostatic  Union,  is  scarcely  part  of  the  defi- 
nition of  a  spiritual  believer.  In  order  to  support 
this  position,  they  lay  it  down  as  self-evident,  that 
the  main  purpose  of  revealed  doctrine  is  to  affect  the 
heart, — that  that  which  does  not  seem  to  affect  it, 
does  not  affect  it, — that  what  does  not  affect  it  is  un- 
necessary,— and  that  the  circumstance  that  this  or 
that  person's  heart  seems  rightly  affected,  is  a  suffi- 
cient warrant  that  such  Articles  as  he  may  happen  to 
reject  may  be  universally  rejected,  or  at  least  are  only 
accidentally  important.  Such  principles,  when  once 
become  familiar  to  the  mind,  induce  a  certain  dis- 
proportionate attention  to  the  doctrines  connected 
with  the  work  of  Christ,  in  comparison  of  those 
which  relate  to  His  Person,  from  their  more  imme- 


188  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Sbhm. 

diately  interesting  and  exciting  character ;  and  carry 
on  the  more  speculative  and  philosophical  class  to 
view  the  doctrines  of  Atonement  and  Sanctification 
as  the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  advocate  them 
in  the  place  of  those  "  Heavenly  Things"  altogether, 
vrhich,  as  theologically  expressed,  they  have  already 
assailed ;  and  of  which  they  now  openly  complain 
as  mysteries  for  bondsmen,  not  Gospel  consolations. 
The  last  and  most  miserable  stage  of  this  false  wis- 
dom, is  to  deny  that  in  matters  of  doctrine  there  is 
any  one  sense  of  Scripture  such,  that  it  is  true  and 
all  others  false  ;  to  make  the  Gospel  of  Truth  (so 
far)  a  revelation  of  words  and  a  dead  letter ;  to 
consider  that  inspiration  speaks  merely  of  divine 
operations,  not  of  Persons ;  and  that  that  is  truth 
to  each,  which  each  man  thinks  to  be  true,  so  that 
one  man  may  say  that  Christ  is  God,  another  deny 
His  pre-existence,  yet  each  have  received  the  Truth 
according  to  the  peculiar  constitution  of  his  own 
mind,  the  Scripture  doctrine  having  no  real  inde- 
pendent substantive  meaning.  Thus  the  system 
under  consideration  tends  legitimately  to  obliterate 
the  great  Objects  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel, 
and  to  darken  what  I  called  yesterday  the  eye  of 
faith ;  to  throw  us  back  into  the  vagueness  of 
Heathenism,  when  men  only  felt  after  the  Divine 
Presence ;  and  thus  to  frustrate  the  design  of 
Christ's  incarnation  so  far  as  it  is  a  manifestation 
of  the  Unseen  Creator. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  necessity  of  obedience 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  189 

in  order  to  salvation  does  not  suffer  less  from  the 
upholders  of  this  modern  system  than  the  articles  of 
the  Creed.  They  argue,  and  truly,  that  if  faith  is 
living,  works  must  follow ;  but  mistaking  a  follow- 
ing in  order  of  conception  for  a  following  in  order  of 
time,  they  conclude  that  faith  ever  comes  first,  and 
works  afterwards ;  and  therefore,  that  faith  must 
first  be  secured,  and  that  by  some  means  in  which 
works  have  no  share.  Thus,  instead  of  viewing 
works  as  the  concomitant  development  and  evi- 
dence, and  instrumental  cause,  as  well  as  the  sub- 
sequent result  of  faith,  they  lay  all  the  stress  upon 
the  direct  creation,  in  their  minds,  of  faith  and 
spiritual-mindedness,  which  they  consider  to  consist 
in  certain  emotions  and  desires,  because  they  can 
form  abstractedly  no  better  or  truer  notion  of  those 
qualities.  Then,  instead  of  being  "  careful  to  main- 
tain good  works,"  they  proceed  to  take  it  for 
granted,  that  since  they  have  attained  faith,  (as  they 
consider,)  works  will  follow  without  their  trouble  as 
a  matter  of  course.  Thus  the  wise  are  taken  in 
their  own  craftiness ;  they  attempt  to  reason,  and 
are  overcome  by  sophisms.  Had  they  kept  to  the 
Inspired  Record,  instead  of  reasoning,  their  way 
would  have  been  clear ;  and,  considering  the  serious 
exhortations  to  keeping  God's  commandments,  with 
which  all  Scripture  abounds,  from  Genesis  to  the 
Apocalypse,  is  it  not  a  very  grave  question  which 
the  most  charitable  among  Churchmen  must  put  to 
himself,  whether  these  random  expounders  of  the 


190  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

Blessed  Gospel  are  not  risking  a  participation  in 
the  woe  denounced  against  those  who  preach  any 
other  doctrine  besides  that  delivered  unto  us,  or  who 
"  take  away  from  the  words  of  the  Book"  of 
revealed  Truth  ? 

3.  But  still  more  evidently  do  they  fall  into  this 
last  imputation,  when  we  consider  how  they  are 
obliged  to  treat  the  Sacred  Volume  altogether,  in 
order  to  support  the  system  they  have  adopted.  Is 
it  too  much  to  say  that,  instead  of  attempting  to 
harmonize  Scripture  with  Scripture,  much  less  re- 
ferring to  Antiquity  to  enable  them  to  do  so,  they 
either  drop  altogether,  or  explain  away  whole  por- 
tions of  the  Bible,  and  those  most  sacred  ones? 
How  does  the  authority  of  the  Psalms  stand  with 
their  opinions,  except  at  best  by  a  forced  figurative 
interpretation  ?  And  our  Lord's  discourses  in  the 
Gospels,  especially  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  are 
they  not  virtually  considered  as  chiefly  important 
to  the  persons  immediately  addressed,  and  of  infe- 
rior instructiveness  to  us  now  that  the  Spirit  (as  it 
is  profanely  said)  is  come  ?  In  short,  is  not  the  rich 
and  varied  Revelation  of  our  merciful  Lord  practi- 
cally reduced  to  a  few  chapters  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles, 
whether  rightly  (as  they  maintain)  or  (as  we  would 
say)  perversely  understood  ?  If  then  the  Romanists 
have  added  to  the  word  of  God,  is  it  not  undeniable 
that  there  is  a  school  of  religionists  among  us  who 
have  taken  from  it  ? 

4.  I  would  remark,  that  the  immediate  tendency 

1 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  191 

of  these  opinions  is  to  undervalue  ordinances  as  well 
as  doctrines.  The  same  argument  evidently  applies  ; 
for,  if  the  renewed  state  of  heart  is  (as  it  is  sup- 
posed) attained,  what  matter  whether  Sacraments 
have  or  have  not  been  administered  ?  The  notion 
of  invisible  grace  and  invisible  privileges  is,  on  this 
supposition,  altogether  superseded ;  that  of  commu- 
nion with  Christ  is  limited  to  the  mere  exercise  of 
the  affections  in  prayer  and  meditation,  to  sensible 
effects ;  and  he  who  considers  he  has  already  gained 
this  one  essential  gift  of  grace  (as  he  calls  it,)  may 
plausibly  inquire,  after  the  fashion  of  the  day,  why 
he  need  wait  upon  ordinances  which  he  has  antici- 
pated in  his  religious  attainments, — which  are  means 
to  an  end,  which  he  has  not  to  seek,  even  if  they  be 
not  outward  forms  altogether, — and  whether  Christ 
will  not  accept  at  the  last  day  all  who  believe, 
without  inquiring  if  they  were  members  of  the 
Church,  or  were  confirmed,  or  were  baptized,  or  re- 
ceived the  blessing  of  mere  men  who  are  "  earthen 
vessels." 

5.  The  foregoing  remarks  go  to  show  the  utterly 
unevangelical  character  of  the  system  in  question ; 
unevangelic  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  whether 
by  the  Gospel  be  meant  the  inspired  document  of 
it,  or  the  doctrines  brought  to  light  through  it,  or 
the  Sacramental  Institutions  which  are  the  gift  of 
it,  or  the  theology  which  interprets  it,  or  the  Cove- 
nant which  is  the  basis  of  it.  A  few  words  shall 
now  be  added,  to  show  the  inherent  mischief  of  the 


192  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

system  as  such ;  which  I  conceive  to  he  in  its 
necessarily  involving  a  continual  self-contemplation 
and  reference  to  self  in  all  departments  of  conduct. 
He  who  aims  at  attaining  sound  doctrine  or  right 
practice,  more  or  less  looks  out  of  himself;  whereas, 
in  labouring  after  a  certain  frame  of  mind,  there  is 
an  habitual  reflex  action  of  the  mind  upon  itself. 
That  this  is  really  involved  in  the  modern  system, 
is  evident  from  the  very  doctrine  principally  insisted 
on  by  it ;  for,  as  if  it  were  not  enough  for  a  man  to 
look  up  simply  to  Christ  for  salvation,  it  is  declared 
to  be  necessary  that  he  should  be  able  to  recognise 
this  in  himself,  that  he  should  define  his  own  state 
of  mind,  confess  he  is  justified  by  faith  alone,  and 
explain  what  is  meant  by  that  confession.  Now,  the 
truest  obedience  is  indisputably  that,  which  is  done 
from  love  of  God,  without  narrowly  measuring  the 
maofnitude  or  nature  of  the  sacrifice  involved  in  it. 
He  who  has  learned  to  give  names  to  his  thoughts 
and  deeds,  to  appraise  them  as  if  for  the  market,  to 
attach  to  each  its  due  measure  of  commendation  or 
usefulness,  will  soon  involuntarily  corrupt  his  mo- 
tives by  pride  or  selfishness.  A  sort  of  self-appro- 
bation will  insinuate  itself  into  his  mind  ;  so  subtle 
as  not  at  once  to  be  recognised  by  himself, — an 
habitual  quiet  self-esteem,  leading  him  to  prefer  his 
own  views  to  those  of  others,  and  a  secret,  if  not 
avowed  persuasion,  that  he  is  in  a  different  state 
from  the  generality  of  those  around  him.  This  is 
an  incidental,  though  of  course  not  a  necessary  evil 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  193 

of  religious  journals  ;  nay,  of  such  compositions  as 
Ministerial  duties  involve.  They  lead  those  who 
write  them  in  so^ie  respect  or  other  to  a  contem- 
plation of  self.  Moreover,  as  to  religious  journals, 
useful  as  they  often  are,  at  the  same  time,  I  believe 
persons  find  great  difficulty,  while  recording  their 
feelings,  in  banishing  the  thought  that  one  day 
these  good  feelings  will  be  known  to  the  world,  and 
are  thus  insensibly  led  to  modify  and  prepare  their 
language  as  if  for  a  representation.  Seldom  indeed 
is  any  one  in  the  practice  of  contemplating  his  better 
thoughts  or  doings,  without  proceeding  to  display 
them  to  others ;  and  hence  it  is,  that  it  is  so  easy  to 
discover  a  conceited  man.  When  this  is  encouraged 
in  the  sacred  province  of  religion,  it  produces  a  cer- 
tain unnatural  solemnity  of  manner,  arising  from  a 
wish  to  be,  nay,  to  appear  spiritual;  which  is  at 
once  very  painful  to  beholders,  and  surely  quite  at 
variance  with  our  Saviour's  rule  of  anointing  our 
head  and  washing  our  face,  even  when  we  are  most 
self-abased  in  heart.  Another  mischief  arising  from 
this  self-contemplation  is  the  peculiar  kind  of  selfish- 
ness (if  I  may  use  so  harsh  a  term,)  which  it  will  be 
found  to  foster.  They  who  make  self  instead  of 
their  Maker  the  great  object  of  their  contempla- 
tion, will  naturally  exalt  themselves.  Without 
denying  that  the  glory  of  God  is  the  great  end  to 
which  all  things  are  to  be  referred,  they  will  be  led 
to  connect  indissolubly  His  glory  with  their  own  cer- 
tainty of  salvation  ;  and  this  partly  accounts  for  its 

VOL.  II.  o 


194  EASTER  TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

being  so  common  to  find  rigid  predestinarian  views, 
and  the  ea^clusive  maintenance  of  justification  by 
Faith  in  the  same  persons.  And  for  the  same  rea- 
son, the  Scripture  doctrines  relative  to  the  Church 
and  its  offices  will  be  unpalatable  to  such  religion- 
ists; no  one  thing  being  so  irreconcileable  with 
another,  as  the  system  which  makes  a  man's  thoughts 
centre  in  himself,  with  that  which  directs  them  to  a 
fountain  of  grace  and  truth,  on  which  God  has  made 
him  dependent. 

And  as  self-confidence  and  spiritual  pride  are  the 
legitimate  results  of  these  opinions  in  one  set  of 
persons,  so  in  another  they  lead  to  a  feverish  anxiety 
about  their  religious  state  and  prospects,  and  fears 
lest  they  are  under  the  reprobation  of  their  All- 
merciful  Saviour.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  a 
contemplation  of  self  is  a  frequent  attendant,  and 
a  frequent  precursor  of  a  deranged  state  of  the 
mental  powers. 

To  conclude. — It  must  not  be  supposed  from  the 
foregoing  remarks,  that  I  am  imputing  all  the  con- 
sequences enumerated  to  every  one  who  holds  the 
main  doctrine  from  which  they  legitimately  follow. 
Many  men  zealously  maintain  principles  which  they 
never  follow  out  in  their  own  minds,  or  after  a  time 
silently  discard,  except  as  far  as  words  go ;  but 
which  are  sure  to  receive  a  full  development  in  the 
history  of  any  school  or  party  of  men  which  adopts 
them.  Considered  thus,  as  the  characteristics  of  a 
school,    the    principles    in   question  are  doubtless 


XV.]  SELF-CONTEMPLATION.  195 

antichristian ;  for  they  destroy  all  positive  doctrine, 
all  ordinances,  all  good  works,  they  foster  pride,  in- 
vite hypocrisy,  discourage  the  weak,  and  deceive 
most  fatally,  while  they  profess  to  be  the  especial 
antidotes  to  self-deception.  We  have  seen  these 
effects  of  them  two  centuries  since  in  the  history  of 
the  English  Branch  of  the  Church ;  for  what  we 
know,  a  more  fearful  triumph  is  still  in  store  for 
them.  But,  however  that  may  be,  let  not  the 
watchmen  of  Jerusalem  fail  to  give  timely  warning 
of  the  approaching  enemy,  or  to  acquit  themselves 
of  all  cowardice  or  compliance  as  regards  it.  Let 
them  prefer  the  Old  Commandment,  as  it  has  been 
from  the  beginning,  to  any  novelties  of  man ;  re- 
collecting Christ's  words,  "  Blessed  is  he  that 
watcheth,  and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk 
naked,  and  they  see  his  shame  ^"  ^ 


*  Rev.  xvi.  15. 


fv 


o2 


SERMON    XVI. 


IHE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MARK,  THE  EVANGELIST. 
RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE. 


Hebrews  xii.  12. 
Lift  up  the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  the  feeble  knees. 

The  chief  points  of  St.  Mark's  history  are  these : — 
first,  that  he  was  sister's-son  to  Barnabas,  and  taken 
with  him  and  St.  Paul  on  their  first  apostolical 
journey ;  next,  that  after  a  short  time  he  deserted 
them,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem ;  next,  that  after 
an  interval,  he  was  St.  Peter's  assistant  at  Rome, 
and  composed  his  Gospel  there  principally  from  the 
accounts  which  he  received  from  that  Apostle; 
lastly,  that  he  was  sent  by  him  to  Alexandria,  in 
Egypt,  where  he  founded  one  of  the  strictest  and 
most  powerful  churches  of  the  primitive  times. 

The  points  of  contrast  in  his  history  are  as  fol- 
lows : — that  first  he  abandoned  the  cause  of  the 
Gospel  as  soon  as  danger  appeared ;  afterwards,  he 
proved   himself,  not  merely  an  ordinary  Christian, 


Serm.  XVI.]         RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE.  197 

but  a  most  resolute  and  exact  servant  of  God,  found- 
ing and  ruling  that  strictest  Church  of  Alexandria. 

And  the  means  of  this  change  were,  as  it  appears, 
the  influence  of  St.  Peter,  a  fit  restorer  of  a  timid 
and  backsliding  disciple. 

The  encouragement  which  we  derive  from  these 
circumstances  in  St.  Mark's  history,  is,  that  the 
feeblest  among  us  may  through  God's  grace  become 
strong.  And  the  warning  to  be  drawn  from  it  is, 
to  distrust  ourselves ;  and  again,  not  to  despise  weak 
brethren,  or  to  despair  of  them,  but  to  bear  their 
burdens  and  help  them  forward,  if  so  be  we  may 
restore  them.  Now,  let  us  attentively  consider  the 
subject  thus  brought  before  us. 

Some  men  are  naturally  impetuous  and  active ; 
others  love  quiet  and  readily  yield.  The  over- 
earnest  must  be  sobered,  and  the  indolent  must  be 
roused.  The  history  of  Moses  supplies  us  with  an 
instance  of  a  proud  and  rash  spirit,  tamed  down  to 
an  extreme  gentleness  of  deportment.  In  the  great- 
ness of  the  change  wrought  in  him,  when  from  a 
fierce,  though  honest,  avenger  of  his  brethren,  he 
became  the  meekest  of  men  on  the  earth,  he  evi- 
dences the  power  of  faith,  the  influence  of  the  Spirit 
on  the  heart.  St.  Mark's  history  affords  a  specimen 
of  the  other,  and  still  rarer  change,  from  timidity 
to  boldness.  Difficult,  as  it  is,  to  subdue  the  more 
violent  passions,  yet  I  believe  it  to  be  still  more 
difficult  to  overcome  a  tendency  to  sloth,  cowardice, 
and    despondency.     These   evil    dispositions   cling 


198  ST.  MARK.  [Serm. 

about  a  man,  and  weigh  him  down.  They  are 
minute  chains,  binding  him  on  every  side  to  the 
earth,  so  that  he  cannot  even  turn  himself  or  make 
an  effort  to  rise.  It  would  seem  as  if  right  principles 
had  yet  to  be  planted  in  the  indolent  mind ;  where- 
as violent  and  obstinate  tempers  had  already  some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  firmness  and  zeal  in  them, 
or  rather  what  will  become  so  with  care,  exercise, 
and  God's  blessing.  Besides,  the  events  of  life 
have  a  powerful  influence  in  sobering  the  ardent 
or  self-confident  temper.  Disappointments,  pain, 
anxiety,  advancing  years,  bring  with  them  some 
natural  wisdom  as  a  matter  of  course ;  and,  though 
such  tardy  improvement  bespeaks  but  a  weak  faith, 
yet  we  may  believe  that  the  Holy  Ghost  often 
blesses  these  means,  however  slowly  and  imper- 
ceptibly. On  the  other  hand,  these  same  circum- 
stances do  but  increase  the  defects  of  the  timid  and 
irresolute  ;  who  are  made  more  indolent,  selfish,  and 
fainthearted  by  advancing  years,  and  find  a  sort  of 
sanction  of  their  unworthy  caution  in  their  expe- 
rience of  the  vicissitudes  of  life. 

St.  Mark's  change,  therefore,  may  be  considered 
even  more  astonishing  in  its  nature  than  that  of 
the  Jewish  Lawgiver.  "  By  faith,"  he  was  "  out  of 
weakness  made  strong;"  and  becomes  a  memorial 
of  the  more  glorious  and  marvellous  gifts  of  the  last 
and  spiritual  Dispensation. 

Observe  in  what  St.  Mark's  weakness  lay.  There 
is  a  sudden  defection,  which  arises  from  self-confi- 


XVL]  RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE.  199 

dence.  Such  was  St.  Peter's.  He  had  trusted  too 
much  to  his  mere  good  feelings ;  he  was  honest  and 
sincere,  and  he  thought  that  he  could  do  what  he 
wished  to  do.  How  far  apart  from  each  other  are 
to  wish  and  to  do !  yet  we  are  apt  to  confuse  thera. 
Sometimes  indeed  earnest  desire  of  an  object  will 
by  a  sudden  impulse  surmount  difficulties,  and 
succeed  without  previous  practice.  Enthusiasm 
certainly  does  wonders  in  this  way ;  just  as  men  of 
weakly  frames  will  sometimes  from  extreme  excite- 
ment inflict  blows  of  incredible  power.  And  some- 
times eagerness  sets  us  on  beginning  to  exert  our- 
selves ;  and,  the  first  obstacles  being  thus  removed, 
we  go  on  as  a  matter  of  course  with  comparatively 
small  labour.  All  this,  being  from  time  to  time 
witnessed,  impresses  us  with  a  conviction,  unknown 
to  ourselves,  that  a  sanguine  temper  is  the  main 
condition  of  success  in  any  work.  And  when,  in 
our  lonely  imaginings,  we  fancy  ourselves  taking  a 
strenuous  part  in  some  great  undertaking,  or  when 
we  really  see  others  playing  the  man,  so  very  easy 
does  heroism  seem  to  be,  that  we  cannot  admit  the 
possibility  of  our  failing,  should  circumstances  call 
us  to  any  difficult  duty.  St.  Peter  thought  that  he 
could  preserve  his  integrity,  because  he  wished  to 
do  so ;  and  he  fell,  from  ignorance  of  the  difficulty 
of  doing  what  he  wished. 

In  St.  Mark's  history,  however,  we  have  no  evi- 
dence of  self-confidence;  rather,  we  may  discern 
in  it  the  state  of  multitudes  at  the  present  day, 


200  ST.  MARK.  [Serm. 

who  proceed  through  life  with  a  certain  sense  of 
religion  on  their  minds,  who  have  been  brought  up 
well  and  know  the  Truth,  who  acquit  themselves 
respectably  while  danger  is  at  a  distance,  but  dis- 
grace their  profession  when  brought  into  any  unex- 
pected trial.  His  mother  was  a  woman  of  influence 
among  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem ;  his  mother's 
brother,  Barnabas,  was  an  eminent  Apostle.  Doubt- 
less he  had  received  a  religious  education ;  and,  as 
being  the  friend  of  Apostles  and  in  the  bosom  of 
the  pure  Church  of  Christ,  he  had  the  best  models 
of  sanctity  before  his  eyes,  the  clearest  teaching, 
the  fullest  influences  of  grace.  He  was  shielded 
from  temptation.  The  time  came  when  his  real 
proficiency  in  faith  and  obedience  was  to  be  tried. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  were  sent  forth  to  preach  to  the 
Heathen ;  and  they  took  Mark  with  them  as  an 
attendant.  First  they  sailed  to  Cyprus,  the  native 
place  of  Barnabas :  they  travelled  about  it,  and 
then  crossed  over  to  the  main  land.  This  seems  to 
have  been  their  first  entrance  upon  an  unknown 
country.  Mark  was  discouraged  at  the  prospect  of 
danger,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem. 

Now,  who  does  not  see  that  such  a  character  as 
this,  such  a  trial,  and  such  a  fall,  belong  to  other 
days,  besides  those  of  the  Apostles  ?  Or  rather,  to 
put  the  question  to  us  more  closely,  who  will  deny 
that  there  are  multitudes  in  the  Church  at  present, 
who  have  no  evidence  to  themselves  of  more  than 
that  passive  faith  and  virtue,  which  in  Mark's  case 


XVI.]  RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE.  201 

proved  so  unequal  even  to  a  slight  trial  ?    Who  has 
not  some  misgivings  of  heart,  lest,  in  times  such  as 
these,  when  Christian  firmness  is  so  little  tried,  his 
own  loyalty  to  his  Saviour's  cause  be  perchance  no 
truer  or  firmer  than  that  of  the  sister's-son   of  a 
great  Apostle  ?   When  the  Church  is  at  peace,  as  it  j 
has  long  been  in  this  country,  when  public  order  is 
preserved  in  the  community,  and  the  rights  of  per- 
son and  property  secured,  there  is  extreme  danger 
lest  we  judge  ourselves  by  what  is  without  us,  not 
by  what  is  within.     We  take  for  granted  we  are 
Christians,  because  we   have  been  taught   aright, 
and  are  regular  in  our  attendance  upon  the  Chris- 
tian ordinances.     But,  great  privilege  and  duty  as 
it  is  to  use  the  means  of  grace,  reading  and  prayer 
are  not  enough  ;  nor,  by  themselves,  will  they  ever 
make  us  real  Christians.     They  will  give  us  right 
knowledge  and  good  feelings,  but  not   firm  faith 
and  resolute  obedience.     Christians,  such  as  Mark, 
will  abound  in  a  prosperous  Church;  and,  should 
trouble  come,  they  will  be  unprepared  for  it.    They 
have  so  long  been  accustomed  to  external  peace, 
that  they  do  not  like  to  be  persuaded,  that  danger 
is  at  hand.     They  settle  it  in  their  imagination  that 
they  are  to  live  and  die  undisturbed.     They  look 
at  the  world's  events,  as  they  express  it,  cheerfully; 
and  argue  themselves  into  self-deception.     Next, 
they  make  concessions,  to  fulfil  their  own  predic- 
tions and    wishes;    and    surrender    the   Christian 
cause,  that  unbelievers  may  not  commit  themselves 
to  an  open  attack  upon  it.     Some  of  them  are  men 


202  ST.  MARK.  [Serm. 

of  cultivated  and  refined  taste ;  and  these  shrink 
from  the  rough  life  of  pilgrims,  to  which  they 
are  called,  as  something  strange  and  extravagant. 
They  consider  those,  who  take  a  simpler  view  of 
the  duties  and  prospects  of  the  Church,  to  be 
enthusiastic,  rash,  and  intemperate,  or  perverse- 
minded.  To  speak  plainly,  a  state  of  persecution 
is  not,  (what  is  familiarly  called,)  their  element; 
they  cannot  breathe  in  it.  Alas !  how  different 
from  the  Apostle,  who  had  learned  in  whatsoever 
state  he  was,  therewith  to  be  content,  and  who  was 
all  things  to  all  men.  If  then  there  be  times  when 
we  have  grown  thus  torpid  from  long  security,  and 
are  tempted  to  prefer  the  treasures  of  Egypt  to  the 
reproach  of  Christ,  what  can  we  do,  what  ought 
we  to  do,  but  to  pray  God  in  some  way  or  other 
to  try  the  very  heart  of  the  Church,  and  to  afflict 
us  here  rather  than  hereafter?  Dreadful  as  is  the 
prospect  of  Satan's  temporary  triumph,  fierce  as 
are  the  horsehoofs  of  his  riders,  and  detestable  as 
is  the  cause  for  which  they  battle,  yet  better  such 
anguish  should  come  upon  us  than  that  the  recesses 
of  our  heritage  should  be  the  hiding-places  of  a 
self-indulgent  spirit,  and  the  schools  of  lukewarm- 
ness.  May  God  arise,  and  shake  terribly  the  earth, 
(though  it  be  an  awful  prayer,)  rather  than  the 
double-minded  should  lie  hid  among  us,  and  souls 
be  lost  by  present  ease  !  Let  Him  arise,  if  there 
be  no  alternative,  and  chasten  us  with  His  sweet 
discipline,  as  our  hearts  may  best  bear  it ;  bring- 
ing our  sins  out  in  this  world,  that  we  be  not  con- 


XVI,]  RELIGIOUS  COWARDICE. 

demned  in  the  day  of  the  Lord,  shaming  us  here, 
reproving  us  by  the  mouth  of  His  servants,  then 
restoring  us,  and  leading  us  on  by  a  better  way  to 
a  truer  and  holier  hope  !     Let  Him  winnow  us,  till 
the  chaff  is  clean  removed  !  though,  in  thus  invok- 
ing Him,  we  know  not  what  we  ask,  and,  feeling 
the  end  itself  to  be  good,  yet  cannot  worthily  esti- 
mate the  fearfulness  of  that  chastisement  which  we 
so  freely  speak  about.     Doubtless  we  do  not,  cannot 
measure  the  terrors  of  the  Lord's  judgments ;  we 
use  words  cheaply.     Still,  it  cannot  be  wrong  to 
use  them,  seeing  they  are  the  best  offering  we  can 
make  to  God ;  and,  so  that  we  beg  Him  the  while 
to  lead  us  on,  and  give  us  strength  to  bear  the  trial 
according  as  it  opens  upon  us.     So  may  we  issue 
Evangelists   for    timid   deserters  of   the    cause  of 
truth  ;  speaking  the  words  of  Christ,  and  showing 
forth  His  life  and    death ;  rising  strong  from  our 
sufferings,  and   building    up    the    Church   in    the 
strictness  and  zeal  of  those  who  despise  this  life 
except  as  it  leads  to  another. 

Lastly,  let  us  not,  from  an  excited  fancy  and  a 
vain  longing  after  the  glories  of  other  days,  forget 
the  advantages  which  we  have.  No  need  to  have 
the  troubles  of  Apostles  in  order  to  attain  their 
X  faith.  Even  in  the  quietest  times  we  may  rise  to 
high  holiness,  if  we  improve  the  means  given  us. 
Trials  come  when  we  forget  mercies  ;  to  remind  us 
of  them,  and  to  fit  us  to  enjoy  and  use  them 
^^      suitably.      a^v>^^  <^-)  hs^c^d^   . 


SERMON    XVIL 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES,  THE 
APOSTLES. 

THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES. 


2  Cor.  xiii.  1 . 

In  tlie  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be 
established. 

It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  in  His  great  mercy, 
to  give  us  accumulated  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
the  Gospel ;  to  send  out  His  Witnesses  again  and 
again,  Prophet  after  Prophet,  Apostle  after  Apostle, 
miracle  after  miracle,  that  reason  might  be  brought 
into  captivity,  as  well  as  faith  rewarded,  by  the 
fulness  of  His  revelations.  The  double  Festival 
which  we  are  now  celebrating,  reminds  us  of  this. 
Our  Service  is  this  day  distinguished  by  the  com- 
memoration of  two  Apostles,  who  are  associated 
together  in  our  minds  in  nothing  except  in  their 
being  Apostles,  in  both  of  them  being  Witnesses, 
separate  Witnesses  of  the  life,  death,  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ.  Thus  this  union,  however  origin- 
ating, of  the  Feast  Days  of  Apostles,  who  are  not 
especially   connected   in  Scripture,  will    serve    to 


Skum.  XVII.]        THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  ^5 

remind  us  of  the  diversity  and  number  of  the 
Witnesses  by  whom  one  and  the  same  Sacred  Truth 
has  been  delivered  to  us. 

But,  further  than  this.  Even  the  twelve  Apo- 
stles, many  as  they  were,  form  not  the  whole  com- 
pany of  the  Witnesses  vouchsafed  to  us.  In  order 
more  especially  to  confirm  to  us,  that  the  AVord  has 
really  become  incarnate,  and  has  sojourned  among 
men,  another  distinct  Witness  is  vouchsafed  to  us 
in  the  person  of  St.  Paul.  What  could  be  needed 
beyond  the  preaching  of  the  Twelve  ?  they  all  were 
attendants  upon  Christ,  they  had  heard  His  words, 
they  had  imbibed  His  Spirit ;  and,  as  agreeing  one 
and  all  in  the  matter  of  their  testimony,  they 
afforded  full  evidence  to  those  who  required  it,  that, 
though  their  Master  wrote  not  His  Gospel  for  us 
with  His  own  finger,  nevertheless  we  have  it  whole 
and  entire.  Yet  He  did  more  than  this.  When  the 
time  came  for  publishing  it  to  the  world  at  large, 
while  He  gradually  initiated  their  minds  into  the 
full  graciousness  of  the  New  Covenant,  as  reaching 
to  Gentile  as  well  as  Jew,  He  raised  up  to  Himself 
by  direct  miracle  and  inspiration,  a  fresh  and  inde- 
pendent Witness  of  it  from  among  His  persecutors ; 
so  that  from  that  time,  the  Dispensation  had  (as  it 
were)  a  second  beginning,  and  went  forward  upon  a 
twofold  foundation,  the  teaching,  on  the  one  hand, 
of  the  Apostles  of  the  Circumcision,  and  of  St.  Paul 
on  the  other.  Two  schools  of  Christian  doctrine 
forthwith  existed  ;  if  I  may  use  the  word  "  school," 


206  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

to  denote  a  difference,  not  of  doctrine  itself,  but  of 
history,  between  the  Apostles.  Of  the  Gentile 
school,  were  St.  Luke,  St.  Clement,  and  others, 
followers  of  St.  Paul.  Of  the  School  of  the  Cir- 
cumcision, St.  Peter,  and  still  more,  St.  John ;  St. 
James,  and  we  may  add,  St.  Philip.  St.  James  is 
known  to  belong  to  the  latter,  in  his  history  as 
Bishop  of  Jerusalem ;  and,  though  little  is  known 
of  St.  Philip,  yet  what  is  known  of  him,  indicates 
that  he  too  is  to  be  ranked  with  St.  John,  whom 
he  followed,  (as  history  informs  us,)  in  observing 
the  Jewish  rule  of  celebrating  the  Easter  Feast, 
and  not  the  tradition  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  I 
propose  upon  this  Festival,  to  set  before  you  some 
considerations  which  arise  out  of  this  view  of  the 
Scripture  history. 

Christianity  was,  and  was  not,  a  new  religion, 
when  first  preached  to  the  world;  it  seemed  to 
supersede,  but  it  was  merely  the  fulfilment,  the 
due  developement  and  maturity  of  the  Jewish  Law, 
which,  in  one  sense,  vanished  away,  in  another,  was 
perpetuated  for  ever.  This  need  not  be  proved 
here ;  I  will  but  refer  you,  by  way  of  illustration, 
to  the  language  of  Prophecy,  as  (for  instance)  to  the 
forty-ninth  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  in  which 
the  Jewish  Church  is  comforted  in  her  afflictions,  by 
the  promise  of  her  propagation  and  triumphs  (that 
is,  in  her  Christian  form)  among  the  Gentiles. 
"  Zion  said,  The  Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  and  my 
Lord  hath  forgotten  me.     Can  a  woman  forget  her 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  207 

sucking  child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion 
on  the  son  of  her  womb  ?  Yea,  they  may  forget, 
yet  will  I  not  forget  thee  ....  Lift  up  thine  eyes 
round  about,  and  behold;  all  these  gather  them- 
selves together,  and  come  to  thee.  As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord,  thou  shalt  surely  clothe  thee  with  them 
all,  as  with  an  ornament,  and  bind  them  on  thee 

as  a  bride   doth The  children   which  thou 

shalt  have,  after  thou  hast  lost  the  other,  shall  say 
again  in  thine  ears.  The  place  is  too  strait  for 
me,  give  place  to  me  that  I  may  dwell.  Then 
shalt  thou  say  in  thine  heart.  Who  hath  begotten 
me  these,  seeing  I  have  lost  my  children,  and  am 
desolate,  a  captive,  and  removing  to  and  fro  ?  ...  . 
Behold  I  will  lift  up  Mine  hand  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  set  up  My  standard  to  the  people ;  .  .  and  kings 
shall  be  thy  nursing-fathers,  and  their  queens  thy 
nursing-mothers."  The  Jewish  Church,  then,  was 
not  superseded,  though  the  Nation  was ;  it  merely 
changed  into  the  Christian,  and  thus  was  at  once  the 
same,  and  not  the  same,  as  it  had  been  before. 

Such  being  the  double  aspect  of  God's  dealings 
towards  His  Church,  when  the  time  came  for  His 
exhibiting  it  in  its  new  form  as  a  Catholic,  not  a 
local  Institution,  He  was  pleased  to  make  a  corres- 
ponding change  in  the  internal  ministry  of  the 
Dispensation;  imposing  upon  St.  Paul  the  parti- 
cular duty  of  formally  delivering  and  adapting  to 
the  world  at  large,  that  Old  Essential  Truth,  the 
guardianship  of  which  He  had  already  committed 


208  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

to  St.  James  and  St.  John.  In  consequence  of  this 
accidental  difference  of  office,  superficial  readers  of 
Scripture  have  sometimes  spoken  as  if  there  were 
some  real  difference  between  the  respective  doc- 
trines of  those  favoured  Instruments  of  Providence. 
Unbelievers  have  objected  that  St.  Paul  intro- 
duced a  new  religion,  such  as  Jesus  never  taught ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  Christians  who 
maintain,  that  St.  Paul's  doctrine  is  peculiarly  the 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  intended  to  super- 
sede both  our  Lord's  recorded  words,  and  those  of 
His  original  followers.  Now  a  very  remarkable 
circumstance  it  certainly  is,  that  Almighty  God  has 
thus  made  two  beginnings  to  His  Gospel ;  and, 
when  we  have  advanced  far  enough  in  sacred  know- 
ledge to  see  how  they  harmonize  together,  and  con- 
cur in  that  wonderful  system,  which  Primitive 
Christianity  presents,  and  which  was  built  on  them 
both,  we  shall  find  abundant  matter  of  praise  in 
this  Providential  arrangement.  But,  at  first  there 
doubtless  is  something  which  needs  explanation  ; 
for  we  see  in  matter  of  fact,  that  different  classes 
of  religionists,  do  build  their  respqctive  doctrines 
upon  the  one  foundation  and  the  other,  upon  the 
Gospels  and  upon  St.  Paul's  Epistles ;  the  more 
enthusiastic  upon  the  latter,  the  cold,  proud,  and 
heretical,  upon  the  former ;  and  though  we  may  be 
quite  sure  that  no  part  of  Scripture  favours  either 
coldness  or  fanaticism,  and,  in  particular,  may 
zealously  repel  the  impiety,  as  well   as  the  daring 


XVII]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  209 

perverseness,  which  would  find  countenance  for  an 
imperfect  Creed  in  the  heavenly  words  of  the 
Evangelists,  yet  the  very  fact  that  hostile  parties 
do  agree  in  dividing  the  New  Testament  into  about 
the  same  two  portions,  is  just  enough  at  first  sight 
to  show  that  there  is  some  difference  or  other, 
whether  in  tone  or  doctrine,  which  needs  account- 
ing for. 

This  state  of  the  case,  whether  a  diflRculty  or  not, 
may,  I  conceive,  any  how  be  turned  into  an  evi- 
dence in  behalf  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  Some 
few  remarks  shall  here  be  made  to  explain  my 
meaning ;  nor  is  it  superfluous  to  direct  attention  to 
the  subject ;  for,  though  points  of  evidence  seldom 
avail  to  the  conversion  of  unbelievers,  they  are 
always  edifying  and  instructive  to  Christians,  as 
confirming  their  faith,  and  filling  them  with  admira- 
tion and  praise  of  God's  marvellous  works,  which 
have  more  and  more  the  stamp  of  Truth  upon 
them,  the  deeper  we  examine  them.  This  was  the 
effect  produced  on  the  Apostles'  minds  by  their  own 
miracles,  and  on  the  Saints'  in  the  Apocalypse  by 
the  sight  of  God's  judgments ;  prompting  them  to 
cry  out  in  awe  and  thankfulness,  "  Lord,  Thou  art 
God,  which  hast  made  Heaven  and  earth !"  "  Great 
and  marvellous  are  Thy  works,  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty ;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways.  Thou  King  of 
Saints  M" 

*  Acts  iv.  24.     Rev.  xv.  3. 
VOL.  II.  p 


210  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

My  remark  then  is  simply  this  ; — that,  supposing 
an  essential  unanimity  of  teaching  can  be  shown  to 
exist  between  the  respective  writings  of  St.  Paul 
and  his  brethren,  then  the  existing  difference,  what- 
ever it  is,  whether  of  phraseology  of  subject,  or  of 
historical  origin,  in  a  word,  the  difference  of  school, 
only  makes  that  agreement  the  more  remarkable, 
and  after  all,  only  guarantees  them  as  two  inde- 
pendent Witnesses  to  the  same  Truth.  Now  to 
illustrate  this  argument. 

I  suppose  the  points  of  difference  between  St. 
Paul  and  the  Twelve  will  be  considered  to  be  as  fol- 
lows : — that  St.  Paul,  on  his  conversion,  "  conferred 
not  with  flesh  and  blood  \  neither  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem to  them  which  were  Apostles  before  him ;" — 
that,  on  the  face  of  Scripture,  there  appears  some 
sort  of  difference  in  viewing  doctrine  between 
St.  Paul  and  the  original  Apostles,  that  St.  Paul  on 
one  occasion  "  withstood  Peter  to  the  face,"  and 
says  that  "those  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat" 
referring  apparently  to  James  and  John,  "  in  con- 
ference added  nothing  to  him  ^"  and  St.  Peter,  on 
the  other  hand,  observes,  that  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles 
there  "  are  some  things  hard  to  be  understood," 
while  St.  James  would  even  seem  to  qualify  St. 
Paul's  doctrine  concerning  the  pre-eminence  of 
faith ' ;  that  St.  James,  not  to  mention  St.  John,  was 
stationary,  having  taken  on  himself  a  local  episco- 

'  Gal.  i.  16,  17.  '  Gal.  ii.  6.  11. 

*  2  Peter  iii.  16.      James  ii.  14—26. 


XVI.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  211 

pate,  while  St.  Paul  was  subjected  to  what  are  now 
called  missionary  labours,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  churches  without  undertaking  the  government  of 
any  of  them ; — that  St.  Paul  speaks  with  especial 
earnestness  concerning  the  abolition  of  the  Jewish 
Law,  and  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles  into  the 
Church,  subjects  not  prominently  put  forward  by 
the  other  Apostles; — that  St.   Paul  declares  dis- 
tinctly and  energetically,  that  we  are  elected  to 
salvation  by  God's  free  grace,  and  justified  by  faith  *, 
and  traces  out,  in  the  way  of  system,  all  Christian 
holiness  and  spiritual  mindedness  from  this  begin- 
ning ;  whereas,  St.  James  says  we  are  justified  by 
works  ^  St.  John  that  we  shall  be  "judged  according 
to  our  works,"  and  St.  Peter  that  "  the  Father  judgeth 
according  to  every  man's  work  without  respect  of 
persons',"  phrases  which  are  but  symbols  of  the 
general  character   of   their    own   and  our  Lord's 
teaching ; — lastly,  that  there  is  more  expression  of 
kindled  and  active  affections  towards  God  and  to- 
wards man  in  St.  Paul's  writings  than  in  those  of 
his  brethren.     This  is  not  the  place  to  explain  what 
needs  explaining  in  this  list  of  contrasts ;  nor  in- 
deed is  there  any  real  diflficulty  at  all  (I  may  say) 
in  reconciling  the  one  side  with  the  other,  where 
the  heart  is  right  and  the  judgment  fairly  clear  and 
steady.     It  has  often  been  done  most  satisfactorily. 
But  let  us  take  them  as  they  stand,  prior  to  all  ex- 

'  Rom.  V.  1.        '  Jam.  ii.  24.         '  Rev.  xx.  13.      1  Pet.  i.  17. 

p2 


212  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

planation ;  let  a  disputer  make  the  most  of  them. 
So  much  at  least  is  proved,  that  St.  Paul  and  St. 
James  were  two  independent  witnesses  (whether 
concordant  or  not)  of  the  gospel  doctrines ;  which 
is  abundantly  confirmed  by  all  those  circumstances 
which  objectors  sometimes  enlarge  upon,  St.  Paul's 
peculiar  education,  connexions,  and  history.  Take 
these  differences  at  the  worst,  and  then  on  the 
other  hand  take  account  of  the  wonderful  agreement 
after  all  in  opinion,  manner  of  thought,  feeling, 
and  conduct,  nay,  in  religious  vocabulary,  between 
the  two  Schools,  (as  I  have  called  them,) — most 
wonderful,  considering  that  the  very  idea  of  the 
Christian  system  in  all  its  parts  was  virtually  a  new 
thing  in  the  particular  generation  in  which  it  was 
promulgated, — and  if  it  does  not  impress  us  with 
the  conviction,  that  an  Unseen  Hand,  a  Divine 
Presence,  was  in  the  midst  of  it,  controlling  the 
human  instruments  of  His  work,  and  ruling  it  that 
they  should  and  must  agree  in  speaking  His  Word, 
in  spite  of  whatever  differences  of  natural  disposi- 
tion and  education,  surely  we  may  as  well  deny 
the  agency  of  the  Creator,  His  power,  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  in  the  appointments  of  the  material 
world. — The  following  are  some  instances  of  the 
kind  of  agreement  I  speak  of. 

1.  Take  the  New  Testament,  as  we  have  re- 
ceived it.  It  deserves  notice,  that  in  spite  of  what 
partisans  would  desire,  after  all  we  cannot  divide 
its  contents  between  the  two  Schools  under  conside- 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  213 

ration.  Admitting  there  were  two  principles  at 
work  in  the  developement  of  the  Christian  Church, 
they  are  inextricably  united  as  regards  the  docu- 
ments of  faith;  so  that  the  modern  parties  in 
question,  whether  their  particular  view  be  right  or 
wrong,  are  at  least  attempting  a  return  to  a  state 
prior  to  the  existence  of  the  New  Testament.  Con- 
sider the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, — which  would  be 
sufficient  evidence,  were  there  no  other,  of  the  iden- 
tity of  St.  Paul's  doctrine  with  St.  James's.  Be  as 
disputatious  as  you  will  about  it ,  author ;  still  it  5  / 
comes  at  least  from  the  School  of  St.  Paul,  if  not 
from  that  Apostle  himself.  The  parallelisms  be- 
tween it  and  his  acknowledged  writings,  forbid 
any  other  supposition.  Now  look  through  it  from 
beginning  to  end,  observe  well  its  exhortations  to 
obedience,  its  warnings  against  apostacy,  its  solemn 
announcement  of  the  terrors  of  the  Gospel,  and 
further  its  honourable  treatment  of  the  Jewish  Law, 
which  it  sets  forth  as  fulfilled,  (after  our  Saviour's 
doctrine,)  not  disrespectfully  superseded  by  the 
Gospel,  and  then  say  whether  this  Epistle  alone  be 
not  a  wonderful  monument  of  the  essential  unity  of 
the  Gospel  creed  among  all  its  original  dissemina- 
tors. Again,  consider  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  and 
Titus,  which  are  confessedly  St.  Paul's,  and  try  to 
discriminate  if  you  can,  between  the  ethical  cha- 
racter which  they  display,  and  that  of  St.  James's 
Epistle.  Next  observe  the  position  of  St.  Luke's 
writings  in  the  inspired  volume,  an  Evangelist  fol- 


214  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

lowing  the  language  of  St.  Matthew,  yet  the  asso- 
ciate of  St.  Paul.  Examine  the  speeches  of  St. 
Paul  in  the  book  of  Acts,  and  consider  whether  he 
is  not  at  once  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
fellow  disciple  of  those  who  had  attended  our  Lord's 
Ministry  \  Consider  too  the  history  of  St.  Peter, 
and  see  whether  the  revelations  made  to  him  in 
order  to  the  conversion  of  Cornelius,  do  not  form  a 
link  between  "  St.  Paul's  Gospel"  and  that  of  his 
earlier  brethren.  Lastly,  count  up  the  particular 
parts  of  St.  Paul's  writings,  in  which  that  Apostle 
may  be  supposed  to  speak  a  different  doctrine  from 
the  rest,  and  determine  their  extent  and  number. 
Are  there  much  more  than  nine  chapters  of  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  four  of  that  to  the  Galatians, 
three  in  the  Ephesians,  a  passage  in  the  Colossians, 
and  a  few  verses  in  the  Philippians  ?  Are  there  not 
in  other  chapters  of  these  very  Epistles  clear  and 
explicit  statements,  running  counter  to  these  sup- 
pose peculiarities,  agreeing  with  St.  James,  and  so 
protesting  (as  it  were)  against  those  who  would  put 
asunder  Apostles  whom  God  has  joined  together? 
These  shall  be  presently  instanced;  but  for  the 
moment  concede  the  whole  of  these  separate  docu- 
ments,— yet  you  cannot  make  more  than  five  out 
of  fourteen,  which  is  the  whole  number  of  his 
Epistles ;  and  these,  however  sacred  and  authori- 
tative, are  not  after  all  of  greater  prominence  and 

*  Vid.  e.  g.  Acts  xx.  25.  xxviii.  31. 
1 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  215 

dignity  than  some  of  the  remaining  nine.  It  would 
appear  then,  from  the  very  face  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, that  the  differences  between  St.  Paul's  doc- 
trine and  that  of  his  brethren,  (whatever  they 
were,)  admitted  of  an  amalgamation,  as  far  as 
Christian  Teaching  went,  from  the  moment  that 
office  was  first  exercised  in  the  Church. 

2.  In  the  case  of  the  original  Apostles,  the  inten- 
tion of  delivering  and  explaining  their  Divine 
Master's  teaching  cannot  be  mistaken.  Now,  of 
course,  St.  Paul,  professing  to  preach  Christ's 
Gospel,  could  not  but  avow  such  an  intention  also ; 
but  it  should  be  noticed,  considering  that  he  was 
not  with  our  Lord  on  earth,  how  he  devotes  himself 
to  the  sole  thought  of  Him;  that  is,  it  would  be 
remarkable,  were  not  St.  Paul  divinely  chosen  and 
called,  as  we  believe  him  to  have  been.  Simon 
Magus  professed  to  be  a  Christian,  yet  his  aim 
was  that  of  exalting  himself.  It  was  quite  pos- 
sible for  St.  Paul  to  have  acknowledged  Christ 
generally  as  his  Master,  and  still  not  practically  to 
have  preached  Christ.  Yet  how  full  he  is  of  his 
Saviour !  He  could  not  be  more  so,  if  he  had  at- 
tended Him  all  through  His  Ministry.  The  thought 
of  Christ  is  the  one  thought  in  which  he  lives ; 
it  is  the  fervent  love,  .the  devoted  attachment,  the 
zeal  and  reverence  of  one  who  had  "  heard  and  seen, 
and  looked  upon  and  handled,  the  Word  of  Life  '.'* 

'  Jolmi.  1. 


216  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

What  a  remarkable  attestation  is  here  to  the 
Sovereignty  of  the  Unseen  Saviour !  What  was 
Paul,  and  what  was  James  "  but  ministers,"  by 
whom  the  world  believed  on  Him  ?  They  clearly 
were  nothing  beyond  this.  This  is  a  striking  ful- 
filment of  our  Lord's  declaration  concerning  the 
ministration  of  the  Spirit ;  "  He  shall  glorify  Me  \" 
St.  John  records  it ;  St.  Paul  exemplifies  it. 

It  is  remarkable  too,  how  St.  Paul  concurs  with 
the  other  Apostles  in  referring  to  our  Lord's  words 
and  actions,  though  much  opportunity  for  this  does 
not  occur  in  his  writings ;  that  is,  it  is  plain,  that 
he  was  not  exalting  a  mere  name  or  idea,  any 
more  than  the  rest,  but  a  Person,  a  really  existing 
Master.  For  instance,  St.  John  says,  "  That  which 
we  have  seen  and  heard,  declare  we  unto  you ;"  and 
St.  Peter,  "Tliis  voice  which  came  from  heaven 
we  heard,  when  we  were  with  Him  in  the  Holy 
Mount;"  again,  "We  are  witnesses  of  all  things 
which  He  did  ^"  In  like  manner  St.  Paul  enume- 
rates, as  his  "Gospel,"  not  mere  principles  of  religion, 
but  the  facts  of  Christ's  life,  recurring  to  that  very 
part  of  the  Dispensation,  in  which  he  was  inferior 
to  his  brethren.  "  I  delivered  unto  you,  first  of  all, 
that  which  I  also  received,  how  that  Christ  died 
for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  .  .  .  was 
buried  .  .  .  rose  again  the  third  day,  and  that  He 

'  John  xvi.  14. 

»   1  John  i.  3.     2  Pet.  i.  18.     Acts  x.  39. 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  217 

was  seen  of  Cephas,  then  of  the  Twelve,  after  that 
...  of  above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once  .  .  . 
after  that  ...  of  James,  then  of  all  the  Apostles ;" 
he  adds  with  expressions  of  self-abasement,  "  And 
last  of  all.  He  was  seen  of  me  \"  Again,  in  his 
directions  for  administering  the  Lord's  Supper, 
he  refers  carefully  to  our  Lord's  manner  of  ordain- 
ing it,  as  recorded  in  the  Gospels;  again,  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  same  Epistle,  there  would 
seem  a  repeated  reference  to  our  Lord's  words  in 
the  Gospel ;  "  Unto  the  married  I  command,  yet  not 
I,  but  the  Lord."  In  the  same  chapter  the  verse 
beginning,  "  This  I  speak  for  your  own  profit,"  has 
been  supposed  with  reason  to  refer  to  St.  Luke's 
account  of  Martha's  complaint  of  Mary,  and  our 
Lord's  speech  thereupon.  In  his  first  Epistle  to 
Timothy,  he  alludes  to  our  Lord's  appearance  before 
Pilate.  In  his  farewell  address  to  the  Elders  of 
Ephesus  he  has  preserved  one  of  His  sayings  which 
the  Gospels  do  not  contain  ;  "  It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive  ^"  And  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  reference  is  made  to  Christ's  agony  in  the 
garden. 

3.  The  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,  or  the  Gospel 
Economy,  as  embracing  the  two  great  truths  of  the 
Divinity  of  Christ  and  the  Atonement,  was  not  (as 
far  as  we  know)  clearly  revealed,  during  our  Lord's 
ministry.  Yet,  observe  how  close  is  St.  Paul's 
agreement  with  St.  John.     "  The  Word  was  with 

'  1  Cor.  XV.  3—8.  '  Acts  xx.  35. 


gl8  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

Grod,  and  the  Word  was  God,  and  the  Word  was 
made  flesh." — "  Christ  Jesus,  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God ;  yet  humbled  HimseL,  being  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men."  St.  John  calls  Christ  "  the  Only- 
begotten  Son  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father;"  and 
St.  Paul,  "  the  First-begotten."  St.  John  says, 
that  He  hath  "  declared  the  Father,"  and  in  His 
own  sacred  words,  that  "  he  that  hath  seen  Him, 
hath  seen  the  Father ;"  St.  Paul  declares  that  He 
is  "  the  Image  of  the  Invisible  God," — "  the  bright- 
ness of  His  glory,  and  the  express  Image  of  His 
Person."  St.  John  says,  "  All  things  were  made  by 
Him ;"  St.  Paul,  that  "  By  Him  God  made  the 
worlds."  Further,  St.  John  says,  "  The  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin ;" — St.  Paul, 
that  "  in  Him  we  have  redemption  through  His 
blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins;" — St.  John, 
that  "  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with 
the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous ;" — St.  Paul, 
that  He  "  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and 
also  maketh  intercession  for  us ;" — St.  John,  that 
"  He  is  the  propitiation  not  for  our  sins  only,  but 
also  for  those  of  the  whole  world ;" — St.  Paul,  that 
He  has  "  reconciled"  Jew  and  Gentile  "  in  one  body 
by  the  cross  \" 

'  John  1.  1.  14.  Phil.  ii.  5—8.  John  i.  18.  Heb.  i.  6. 
John  i.  18.  xiv.  9.  Col.  i.  15.  Heb.  i.  3.  John  i.  3.  Heb.  i.  2. 
1  John  5.  Col.  i.  14.  1  John  ii.  1.  Rom.  viii.  34.  1  John 
ii.  2.     Ephes.  ii.  16. 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  gl9 

Now,  considering  the  mysteriousness  of  these 
doctrines,  the  probability  that  there  would  be  some 
diversity  of  teaching,  in  the  case  of  two  different 
minds,  and  the  actual  differences  existing  among 
various  sects  at  the  time,  I  must  consider  this  exact 
accordance  between  St.  John  and  St.  Paul,  (men  to 
all  appearance  as  unlike  each  other  by  nature  as 
men  could  be,)  to  be  little  short  of  a  demonstration 
of  the  reality  of  the  divine  doctrines  to  which  they 
witness.  "  The  testimony  of  two  men  is  true;"  and 
still  more  clearly  so  in  this  case,  supposing,  (what 
unbelievers  may  maintain,  but  they  alone,)  that 
any  rivalry  of  Schools  existed  between  these  Holy 
Apostles. 

4.  To  continue  our  review.  St.  John  and  St. 
Paul  both  put  forward  the  doctrine  of  Regenera- 
tion, both  connect  it  with  Baptism,  both  denounce 
the  world  as  sinful  and  lost.  They  both  teach  the 
peculiar  privilege  of  Christians,  as  God's  adopted 
children,  and  make  the  grant  of  this  and  all  other 
privileges,  depend  to  faith  \  Now  the  ideas  and 
the  terms  employed  are  peculiar;  and,  with  all 
allowance  for  what  might  have  been  anticipated 
by  former  Dispensations  and  existing  Schools  of 
religion,  yet,  could  it  be  shown,  that  ever  so  much 
of  this  doctrine  was  already  familiar  to  the  Jewish 
Church,  this  does  not  account  for  the  unanimity 
with  which  they  respectively  adopt  and  modify  it. 

'  Johniii.  3—5.  16.  19.  1  John  iii.  1.  v.  19.  Rom.iii.  19. 
V.  1,  2.  viii.  14,  15.     Tit.  iii.  5,  &c. 


220  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Seum. 

I  add  some  parallel  texts  on  this  part  of  the  subject. 
St.  John  delivers  our  Saviour's  prediction ;  "  If  I 
depart  I  will  send  the  Comforter  unto  you  ;  He  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth  ;" — St.  Paul,  "  God  hath 
revealed  (the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel)  unto  us  by 
His  Spirit ;"  "  All  these  (gifts)  worketh  that  one 
and  the  self-same  Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man 
severally  as  He  will."  St.  Paul  says,  "  He  which 
stablisheth  us  with  you  in  Christ,  and  hath  anointed 
us,  is  God  ;" — St.  John,  "  Ye  have  an  unction  from 
the  Holy  One."  St.  John,  in  accordance  with  the 
teaching  of  his  Lord,  declares,  "  There  is  a  sin  unto 
death ;  I  do  not  say  that  a  man  shall  pray  for  it ;" 
and  St.  Paul,  that  "  it  is  impossible  for  those  who 
were  once  enlightened,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to 
renew  them  again  unto  repentance  *." 

5.  We  all  recollect  St.  Paul's  praise  of  charity 
as  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law,  and  the  characteristic 
precept  of  the  Gospel.  Yet,  is  not  the  pre-eminent 
importance  of  it  as  clearly  set  forth  by  St.  John, 
when  he  says,  "  We  know  that  we  have  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  bre- 
thren," and  the  nature  of  it  by  St.  James  in  his 
description  of  "  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above?" 
Again,  it  is  observable,  that  our  Lord's  precept, 
adopted  from  the  Law,  of  loving  our  neighbour  as 
ourselves,  is  handed  down  at  once  by  St.  Paul  and 
St.  James  ^ 

1  Johnxvi.  7.  13.   1  Cor.  ii.  10.  xii.  11.2  Cor.  i.  21.   1  John 
ii.  21.  V.  16.     Heb.  vi.  4—6. 

*  1  John  iii.  14.    James  iii.  17.     Rom.  xiii.  9.    James  ii.  8. 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  231 

6.  We  know  that  an  especial  stress  is  laid  by  our 
Lord  on  the  duty  of  Almsgiving.  St.  John  and  St. 
James  follow  Him  in  so  doing  ^ ;  and  St.  Paul  like- 
wise. That  Apostle's  words,  in  the  Gralatians,  are 
especially  in  point  here,  as  expressly  acknowledging 
this  agreement  between  himself  and  his  brethren. 
"  When  James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who  seemed  to 
be  pillars,  perceived  the  grace  that  was  given  unto 
me,  they  gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right  hands 
of  fellowship,  that  we  should  go  unto  the  heathen, 
and  they  unto  the  circumcision ;  only  they  would 
that  we  should  remember  the  poor ;  the  same  which  I 
also  wa^  forward  to  do  ^." 

7.  Self-denial,  mortification  of  life,  bearing  our 
cross,  are  especially  insisted  on  by  Christ.  St.  Paul 
delivers  clearly  and  strongly  the  same  doctrine,  de- 
claring that  he  himself  was  "  crucified  with  Christ," 
and  "  died  daily  ^."  The  duty  of  Fasting  may  here 
be  mentioned,  as  one  in  which  St.  Paul  unhesitat- 
ingly enters  into  and  enforces  our  Lord's  religious 
system. 

8.  I  need  not  observe  how  urgent  and  constant 
is  St.  Paul  in  his  exhortations  to  Intercession  ;  yet, 
St.  James  equals  him  in  his  short  epistle,  which 
contains  a  passage  longer  and  more  emphatic  than 
any  which  can  be  found  in  St.  Paul  *.  Again,  both 
Apostles  insist  on  the  practice  of  sacred  Psalmody 

^   1  John  iii.  17.     James  ii.  15,  16.  *  Gal.  ii.  9,  10. 

'  Gal.  ii.  20.     1  Cor.  xv.  31. 

*  Eph.  vi.  18.     1  Thes.  v.  17.     James  v.  14—18. 


222  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

as  a  duty.  St.  James,  "  Is  any  afflicted  ?  let  him 
pray.  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms."  St.  Paul, 
"  Speaking  to  each  other  in  psalms,  and  hymns,  and 
spiritual  songs  ^" 

9.  St.  Paul  makes  much  of  the  Holy  Eucharist ; 
nay,  to  him  the  Church  is  indebted  for  the  direct 
and  clear  proof  we  possess  of  the  sacramental 
virtue  of  that  Ordinance.  Far  different  is  the  con- 
duct of  innovators ;  who  are  impatient  of  nothing 
more  than  of  ordinances  which  they  find  esta- 
blished. He  also  recognizes  the  obligation  of  the 
Lord's  day^  he  being  the  Apostle  who  denounces, 
as  other  Jewish  rites,  so  also  the  Sabbath. 

10.  St.  Jude  bids  us  "  contend  earnestly  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  Saints."  In  like  man- 
ner, St.  Paul  enjoins  Timothy  to  "  hold  fast  the 
form  of  sound  words,  which  he  had  heard  of  him ;" 
and  Titus,  to  "  hold  fast  the  faithful  word  as  he 
had  been  taught,  that  he  might  be  able  by  sound 
doctrine  both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gain- 
sayers*."  St.  Paul  bids  us  "  speak  the  Truth  in 
love ;"  St.  John  says,  he  "  loves  Gains  in  the 
Truth  ^" 

11.  It  is  observable  that  our  Lord  speaks  of  His 
Gospel  being  preached,  not  chiefly  as  a  means  of 
converting,  but  as  a  witness  against  the  world. 
This  is  confessedly  a  remarkable  ground  to  be  taken 

*  James  v.  13.  Eph.  v.  19.  ^  Acts  xx.  7.   1  Cor.  xvi.  2. 
'  Jude  3.     2  Tim.  i.  13.     Titus  i.  9. 

*  Eph.  iv.  15.     3  John  1. 


XVIL]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  223 

by  the  Founder  of  a  new  religion.  "  The  Gospel 
of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world, 
for  a  witness  unto  all  nations  ^"  Accordingly,  He 
Himself  witnessed  even  before  the  heathen  Pilate, 
"  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came 
I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto 
the  Truth  ^"  Yet,  surely  it  is  still  more  rerhark- 
able,  that  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  should  take 
up  precisely  the  same  view,  even  referring  to  our 
Lord's  Confession  before  Pilate,  when  giving  Timo- 
thy his  charge  to  preach  the  Truth,  declaring,  that 
the  Gospel  is  "  a  savor  of  death  unto  death,"  as 
well  as  "  of  life  unto  life,"  and  foretelling  the 
growth  of  "  evil  men  and  seducers"  after  his  de- 
parture ^. 

12.  Observe  the  agreement  of  sentiment  in  the 
following  texts :  St.  James,  taught  by  his  Lord  and 
Master,  says,  "  Be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not 
hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves."  St.  Paul 
nearly  in  the  same  words,  "  Not  the  hearers  of  the 
law  are  just  before  God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law 
shall  be  justified*."  Again,  did  we  not  know 
whence  the  following  passages  come,  should  we  not 
assign  them  to  St.  James  ?  "  God  will  render  to 
every  man  according  to  his  deeds ;  to  them,  who 
by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek  for  glory, 
and  honour,    and   immortality,   eternal    life;     but 

Matt.  xxiv.  14.  xviii.  37.  '  John  xviii.  37. 

"  1  Tim.  vi.  13.     2  Cor.  ii.  16.      2  Tim.  iii.  13. 
*  James  i.  22.     Rom.  ii.  13. 


224  -      ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Sf.rm. 

unto  them  that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey 
the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation, 
and  wrath for  there  is  no  respect  of  per- 
sons with  God."  This,  as  well  as  the  text  just  cited, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  opening  of  that  Epistle,  in 
which  St.  Paul  appears  most  to  differ  from  St. 
James  ;  now  observe  how  he  closes  it.  "  Why  dost 
thou  judge  thy  brother  ?  And  why  dost  thou  set 
at  nought  thy  brother  ?  For  we  shall  all  stand  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  ....  Every  one  of  us 
shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God."  Again,  in 
another  Epistle :  "  We  must  all  be  made  manifest 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ ;  that  every  one 
may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according 
to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad. 
Knowing  therefore  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we 
persuade  men  ^" 

13.  St.  John,  after  our  Lord's  example,  implies 
especial  praise  upon  those  who  follow  an  unmarried 
life, — involving  the  letter  in  the  spirit,  as  is  fre- 
quent in  Scripture  ^     "  These  are  they  which  were 

'  Rom.  ii.  6—8.  11.  xiv.  10—12.    2  Cor.  v.  10,  11. 

2  Vide  Hos.  xiii.  14.  John  xi.  23.  40.  xiii.  8.  xviii.  9.  And 
especially,  as  being  a  parallel  case.  Matt,  xviii.  3 — 6,  and  so 
again,  Matt.  x.  38.  Rev.  vii.  14. — The  parallel  is  instructively 
brought  out  in  separate  passages  in  the  Christian  Year : 

"  Yet  in  that  throng  of  selfish  hearts  untrue, 
Thy  sad  eye  rests  upon  Thy  faithful  few, 
Children  and  childlike  souls  are  there,"  &c. — Advent. 

There 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.      ,  225 

not  defiled  with  women,  for  they  are  virgins ;  these 
are  they  which  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever 
He  goeth."  St.  Paul  gives  more  direct  praise  to 
the  same  state,  and  gives  the  same  reason  for  its 
especial  blessedness  ;  "  He  that  is  unmarried  careth 
for  the  thinsrs  that  belono^  to  the  Lord,  how  he  may 

please  the  Lord I  speak  this  for  your  own 

profit that  ye  may  attend  upon  the  Lord 

without  distraction  \" 

14.  St.  Paul  says,  "  Be  careful  for  nothing,  but 
in  every  thing  by  prayer  and  supplication  with 
thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
unto  God ;"  St.  Peter   in   like  manner,  "  Casting 


.  .  .  .  "  There  hangs  a  radiant  coronet, 

All  gemmed  with  pure  and  living  light, 
Too  dazzling  for  a  sinner's  sight, 
Prepared  for  virgin  souls,  and  them 
Who  seek  the  martyr's  diadem. 
Nor  deem,  who,  to  that  bliss  aspire, 
Must  win  their  way  through  blood  and  fire,"  &c. 
Wednesday  before  Easter. 

In  other  words.  Childhood,  Virginity,  Martyrdom,  are  made  in 
Scripture  at  once  the  Types  and  Standards  of  religious  Per- 
fection, as  they  are  represented  in  the  three  Saints'  Days  fol- 
lowing Christmas  Day, — St.  Stephen's,  St.  John's,  and  Holy 
Innocents'.  So  again,  Poverty,  Luke  vi.  20.  xii.  33.  Matt.  xi. 
5.,  with  Matt.  v.  3.  But  this  rule  of  interpretation,  and  the 
light  it  throws  upon  Gospel  duties  and  the  Christian  character, 
cannot  be  more  than  alluded  to  in  a  note. 
'  Rev.  xiv.  4.  1  Cor.  vii.  32.  35. 
VOL.  n.  a 


.  ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

all  your  care  upon  Him,  for  He  caretli  for  you." 
Both  are  after  our  Lord's  exhortation,  "  Be  not 
careful  for  the  morrow,  for  the  morrow  shall  take 
care  for  the  things  of  itself  ^" 

15.  Lastly,  as  Christ  foretels  the  approaching 
visitations  of  the  Jewish  Church,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  looking  out  for  them,  so  St.  Peter  de- 
clares, "  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand ;  be  ye 
therefore  sober,  and  watch  unto  prayer."  St.  James, 
"  Be  ye  also  patient,  stablish  your  hearts,  for  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh  ^"  And  St.  Paul 
in  like  manner,  "  Let  your  moderation  be  known 
unto  all  men  ;  the  Lord  is  at  hand." 

These  instances  may  suffice  by  way  of  pointing 
out  the  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
which  I  conceive  to  lie  in  the  historical  difference  ex- 
isting between  the  respective  Schools  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  James.  Such  a  difference  there  is,  as  every  one 
must  grant ;  I  mean,  that  St.  Paul  did,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  begin  his  preaching  upon  his  own  indepen- 
dent revelations.  And  thus,  however  we  may  be 
able  (as  assuredly  every  Christian  is  gradually  able, 
in  proportion  to  his  diligence  and  prayer)  to  recon- 
cile and  satisfy  himself  as  regards  St.  Paul's  appa^ 
rent  discordances  in  doctrine  from  the  rest  of  the 
Apostles,    so  much    after    all    must   remain,   just 

'  Phil.  iv.  6.     1  Pet.  v.  7.     Matt.  vi.  34. 
'  1  Pet  iv.  7.     Phil.  iv.  5.     Jam.  v.  8. 


XVII.]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  227 

enough,  that  is,  to  build  the  foregoing  argument 
upon.  At  the  same  time,  as  if  to  ensure  even  the 
historical  harmony  of  the  whole  dispensation,  we  are 
allowed  to  set  against  our  information  concerning 
this  separate  origin  of  the  two  Apostolical  Schools, 
the  following  facts ;  first,  that  St.  Paul  ever  con- 
sidered himself  ecclesiastically  subordinate  to  the 
Church  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  St.  James,  as  the  book 
of  Acts  shows  us ;  next,  that  St.  John,  the  beloved 
disciple,  who  was  in  Christ  before  him,  was  ap- 
pointed to  outlive  him,  and,  as  a  faithful  steward, 
to  seal  up,  avouch,  and  deliver  over  inviolate  to  the 
Church  after  him,  the  pure  and  veritable  teaching 
of  his  Lord. 

As  to  the  point  of  doctrinal  agreement  and  differ- 
ence which  I  have  been  employed  in  ascertaining, 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  that  beyond 
controversy  the  agreement  is  in  essentials,  the  na- 
ture and  office  of  the  Mediator,  the  gifts  which  He 
vouchsafes  to  us,  and  the  temper  of  mind  and 
the  duties  required  of  a  Christian ;  whereas  the 
difference  of  doctrine  between  them,  even  admit- 
ting there  is  a  difference,  relates  only  at  the  utmost 
to  the  Divine  counsels,  the  sense  in  which  the 
Jewish  law  is  abolished,  and  the  condition  of  justi- 
fication, whether  faith  or  good  works.  I  would 
not  (God  forbid !)  undervalue  these  or  any  other 
questions  on  which  inspiration  has  spoken ;  it  is 
our  duty  to  search  diligently  after  every  jot  and 
tittle  of  the  Truth  graciously  revealed  to  us,  and  to 

U  2 


ST.  PHILIP  AND  ST.  JAMES.  [Sekm. 

maintain  it:  but  I  am  here  speaking  as  to  an 
unbeliever,  and  he  must  confess  that,  viewing  the 
Gospel  Creed  in  v^^hat  may  be  called  its  historical 
proportions,  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  these  latter 
subjects  cannot  detract  from  that  real  and  substan- 
tial agreement  of  System,  visible  in  the  course  of 
doctrine  which  the  Two  Witnesses  respectively  de- 
liver. 

Next,  speaking  as  a  Christian,  who  will  admit 
neither  inconsistency  to  exist  between  the  inspired 
documents  of  faith,  nor  points  of  trivial  importance 
in  the  revelation,  I  observe  notwithstanding,  that 
the  foregoing  argument  affords  us  additional  cer- 
tainty respecting  the  characteristic  doctrines  as  well 
as  the  truth  of  Christianity.  An  agreement  be- 
tween St.  Paul  and  St.  John  in  behalf  of  a  certain 
doctrine  is  an  agreement  not  of  mere  texts,  but  of 
separate  Witnesses,  an  evidence  of  the  prominence 
of  the  doctrine  delivered  in  the  Gospel  system.  In 
this  way,  if  in  no  other,  we  learn  the  momentous 
character  of  some  particular  tenets  of  revelation 
which  heretics  have  denied,  as  the  Eternity,  or, 
again,  the  Personality  of  the  Divine  Word. 

Further,  we  are  thus  permitted  more  clearly  to 
ascertain  the  main  outlines  of  the  Christian  cha- 
racter;  for  instance,  that  love  is  its  essence, — its 
chief  characteristics,  resignation,  and  composure  of 
mind,  neither  anxious  for  the  morrow,  nor  hoping 
from  this  world, — and  its  duties,  alms-giving,  self- 
denial,  prayer  and  praise. 


XVII]  THE  GOSPEL  WITNESSES.  2)^9 

Lastly,  the  very  circumstance  that  Almighty 
God  has  chosen  this  mode  of  introducing  the  Gos- 
pel into  the  world,  I  mean,  this  employment  of 
a  double  agency,  opens  a  wide  field  of  thought, 
had  we  light  to  trace  out  the  parallel  providences 
which  seem  to  lie  amid  the  intricacies  of  His  deal- 
ings with  mankind.  As  it  is,  we  can  but  gaze  with 
the  Apostle  in  wonder  and  adoration  upon  the 
mystery  of  His  counsels.  "  O  the  depth  of  the 
riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God ! 
how  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways 
past  finding  out !  For  who  hath  known  the  mind 
of  the  Lord  ?  Or  who  hath  been  His  counsellor  ? 
Or  who  hath  first  given  to  Him,  and  it  shall  be 
recompensed  unto  him  again?  For  of  Him,  and 
through  Him,  and  to  Him,  are  all  things :  to  whom 
be  glory  for  ever.     Amen  ^" 


(x(^i^  uy-j^ 


"  Rom.  xi.  33—36. 


SERMON  XVIII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ASCENSION  OF  OUR  LORD. 
MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION. 


Rom.  viii.  34. 

It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us. 

The  Ascension  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  is  an 
event  ever  to  be  commemorated  with  joy  and 
thanksgiving,  for  St.  Paul  tells  us  in  the  text  that 
He  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  there 
makes  intercession  for  us.  Hence  it  is  our  comfort 
to  know  that  "  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous, 
and  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  \"  As  the 
Jewish  High  Priest,  after  the  solemn  sacrifice  for  the 
people  on  the  great  day  of  Atonement,  went  into 
the  Holy  of  Holies  with  the  blood  of  the  victim, 
and  sprinkled  it  upon  the  Mercy-Seat,  so  Christ 
has  entered  into  Heaven  itself,  to  present  (as  it 
were)  before  the  Throne  that  sacred  Tabernacle 
which   was  the   instrument  of  His   passion, — His 

*  1  Johnii.  1,  2. 


Serm.  XVIII.]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  231 

pierced  hands  and  wounded  side, — in  token  of  the 
atonement  which  He  has  effected  for  the  sins  of  the 
world. 

Wonder  and  awe  must  always  mingle  with  the 
thankfulness  which  the  revealed  dispensation  of 
mercy  raises  in  our  minds.  And  this,  indeed,  is  an 
additional  cause  of  thankfulness,  that  Almighty 
God  has  disclosed  to  us  enough  of  His  high  Provi- 
dence to  raise  such  sacred  and  reverent  feelings. 
Had  He  merely  told  us  that  He  had  pardoned  us, 
we  should  have  had  overabundant  cause  for  bless- 
ing and  praising  Him  ;  but  in  showing  us  somewhat 
of  the  means,  in  vouchsafing  to  tell  what  cannot 
wholly  be  told,  in  condescending  to  abase  heavenly 
things  to  the  weak  and  stammering  tongues  of 
earth,  He  has  enlarged  our  gratitude,  yet  sobered 
it  with  fear.  We  are  allowed  with  the  Angels  to 
obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  mysteries  of  Heaven,  "  to 
rejoice  with  trembling."  Therefore,  so  far  from 
considering  the  Truths  of  the  Gospel  as  a  burden, 
because  they  are  beyond  our  understanding,  we 
shall  rather  welcome  them  and  exult  in  them,  nay, 
and  feel  an  antecedent  stirring  of  heart  towards 
them,  for  the  very  reason  that  they  are  above  us. 
Under  these  feelings  I  will  attempt  to  suggest  to 
you  on  the  present  Festival  some  of  the  incentives 
to  wonder  and  awe,  humility,  implicit  faith,  and 
adoration,  supplied  by  the  Ascension  of  Christ. 

1.  First,  Christ's  Ascension  to  the  right  hand  of 
God  is  marvellous  because  it  is  a  sure  token  that 


ASCENSION  DAY.  [Serm. 

heaven  is  a  certain  fixed  place,  and  not  a  mere 
state.  That  bodily  presence  of  the  Saviour  which 
the  Apostles  handled,  is  not  here ;  it  is  elsewhere, 
it  is  in  heaven.  This  contradicts  the  notions  of 
cultivated  and  speculative  minds;  and  humbles 
the  reason.  Philosophy  considers  it  more  rational 
to  suppose  that  Almighty  God,  as  being  a  spirit, 
is  in  every  place;  and  in  no  one  place  more 
than  another.  It  would  teach,  if  it  dare,  that 
heaven  is  a  mere  state  of  blessedness;  but,  to 
be  consistent,  it  ought  to  go  on  to  deny,  with  the 
ancient  heretics,  referred  to  by  St.  John,  that 
"  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,"  and  maintain 
that  His  presence  on  earth  was  a  mere  vision ;  for, 
certain  it  is.  He  who  appeared  on  earth  went  up 
from  the  earth,  and  a  cloud  received  Him  out  of 
His  Apostles'  sight.  And  here,  again,  an  additional 
difficulty  occurs,  on  minutely  considering  the  sub- 
ject. Whither  did  He  go?  beyond  the  sun?  be- 
yond the  fixed  stars  ?  Did  He  traverse  the  immea- 
surable space  which  extends  beyond  them  all  ? 
Again,  what  is  meant  by  ascending  f  Philosophers 
will  say  there  is  no  difference  between  down  and  up, 
as  regards  the  sky ;  yet,  whatever  difficulties  the 
word  may  occasion,  we  can  hardly  take  upon  us  to 
decide  that  it  is  a  mere  popular  expression,  con- 
sistently with  the  reverence  due  to  the  Sacred 
Record. 

And  thus  we  are  led  on  to  consider,  how  different 
are  the  character  and  effect  of  the  Scripture  notices 


XVIIL]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  233 

of  the  structure  of  the  physical  world,  from  those 
which  philosophers  deliver.  I  am  not  deciding 
whether  or  not  the  one  and  the  other  are  reconcil- 
able ;  I  merely  say  their  respective  effect  is  diffe- 
rent. And  when  we  have  deduced  what  we  deduce 
by  our  reason  from  the  study  of  visible  nature, 
and  then  read  what  we  read  in  His  inspired  word, 
and  find  the  two  apparently  discordant,  this  is  the 
feeling  I  think  we  ought  to  have  on  our  minds ; — 
not  an  impatience  to  do  what  is  beyond  our  powers, 
to  weigh  evidence,  sum  up,  balance,  decide,  and  re- 
concile, to  arbitrate  between  the  two  voices  of  God, 
— but  a  sense  of  the  utter  nothingness  of  worms 
such  as  we  are,  of  our  plain  and  absolute  incapacity 
to  contemplate  things  as  they  really  are,  a  percep- 
tion of  our  emptiness,  before  the  great  Vision  of 
God,  of  our  "  comeliness  being  turned  into  cor- 
ruption, and  our  retaining  no  strength,"  a  convic- 
tion, that  what  is  put  before  us,  in  nature  or  in 
grace,  though  true  in  such  a  full  sense  that  we  dare 
not  infringe  it,  yet  is  but  an  intimation  useful  for 
particular  purposes,  useful  for  practice,  useful  in  its 
department,  "  until  the  day  break  and  the  shadows 
flee  away,"  useful  in  such  a  way  that  both  the  one 
and  the  other  representation  may  at  once  be  used,  as 
two  languages,  as  two  separate  approximations  to- 
wards the  Awful  Unknown  Truth,  such  as  will  not 
mislead  us  in  their  respective  provinces.  And  thus 
while  we  use  the  language  of  science,  without 
jealousy,  for  scientific  purposes,  we  may  confine  it 


234  ASCENSION  DAY.  [Serm. 

to  these;  and  repel  and  reprove  its  upholders, 
should  they  attempt  to  exalt  it  and  to  "  stretch  it 
beyond  its  measure."  In  its  own  limited  round  it 
has  its  use,  nay  may  be  made  to  fill  a  higher  minis- 
try, and  stand  as  a  proselyte  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Temple ;  but  it  must  not  dare  profane  the  inner 
courts,  in  which  the  ladder  of  Angels  is  fixed  for 
ever,  reaching  even  to  the  Throne  of  God,  and 
*'  Jesus  standing  on  the  right  of  God." 

I  will  but  remind  you  on  this  part  of  the  subject, 
that  our  Lord  is  to  come  from  heaven  "  in  like  man- 
ner" as  He  went ;  that  He  is  to  come  "  in  clouds," 
that  "  every  eye  shall  see  Him,"  and  "  all  tribes  of 
the  earth  wail  because  of  Him."  Attempt  to  solve 
this  prediction,  according  to  the  received  theories  of 
science,  and  you  will  discover  their  shallowness. 
They  are  unequal  to  the  depth  of  the  problem. 

2.  I  have  made  the  foregoing  remark  in  order  to 
impress  upon  you  the  mystery  with  which  we  are 
encompassed  all  about,  such  as  not  merely  to  attach 
to  one  or  two  truths  of  religion,  but  extending  to 
almost  every  sacred  fact,  and  to  every  action  of  our 
lives.  With  the  same  view,  let  me  observe  upon 
the  doctrine  which  accompanies  the  fact  of  the 
Ascension.  Christ,  we  are  told,  has  gone  up  on 
high  "  to  present  Himself  before  the  face  of  God  for 
us."  He  has  "  entered  by  His  own  blood  once  for 
all  into  the  Holy  Place,  having  effected  eternal  re- 
demption." "  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
for  those  who  come  unto  God  by  Him ;  He  hath  a 

1 


XVIII.]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  235 

priesthood  which  will  not  pass  from  Him."  "  We 
have  such  an  High  Priest  who  is  set  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens  ; 
a  Minister  of  the  Sanctuary,  and  of  the  true  Taber- 
nacle, which  the  Lord  pitched,  and  not  man  \" 

These  and  similar  passages  refer  us  to  the  rites 
of  the  Jewish  law.  They  contain  notice  of  the  type, 
but  what  is  the  Antitype  ?  We  can  give  no  precise 
account  of  it.  For  consider ;  why  was  it  that 
Christ  ascended  on  high?  With  what  object? 
What  is  His  work  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  His 
interceding  for  us  in  heaven?  We  know  that, 
whatever  He  does,  it  is  the  gracious  reality  of  the 
Mosaic  figure.  The  High  Priest  entering  with  the 
atoning  blood  into  the  Holiest,  was  a  representation 
of  Christ's  gracious  deed  in  our  behalf.  But  what 
is  that  deed  ?  We  know  what  the  shadow  is ;  what 
is  the  substance  ?  The  death  of  Christ  answers  to 
the  Jewish  rite  of  Atonement ;  how  does  He  vouch- 
safe to  fulfil  the  rite  of  Intercession  ?  Instead  of 
explaining,  Scripture  does  but  continue  to  answer 
us  in  the  language  of  the  type ;  even  to  the  last  it 
veils  His  deed  under  the  ancient  figure  ^  Shall  we 
therefore  explain  away  its  language  as  merely  figu- 
rative, which  (as  the  word  is  now  commonly  under- 
stood) is  next  to  saying  it  has  no  meaning  at  all  ? 
Far  from  it.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about 
Him.     We  are  not  given  to  see  into  the  secret 

^  Heb.  ix.  12.  24,  25.  vii  24,  25.  viii.  1,  2. 
*  Rev.  viii.  3,  4. 


236  ASCEiNSION  DAY.  [Serm. 

shrine  in  which  God  dwells.     Before  Him  stand  the 
Seraphim,  veiling  their  faces.     Christ  is  within  the 
veil.     We  must  not  search  curiously  what  is  His 
present  office,  what  is  meant  by  His  pleading  His 
sacrifice,  and  by  His  perpetual  intercession  for  us. 
And,  since  we  do  not  know,  we  will  studiously  keep 
to  the  figure  given  us  in  Scripture ;  we  will  not 
attempt  to  interpret  it,  or  change   the  wording  of 
it,  being  wise  above  what  is  written.     We  will  not 
neglect  it,  because  we  do  not  understand  it.     We 
will  hold  it  as  a  Mystery,  or  (what  was  anciently 
called)  a  Truth  Sacramental ;  that  is,  a  high  invi- 
sible grace  lodged  in  an  outward  form,  a  precious 
possession  to  be  piously  and  thankfully  guarded  for 
the  sake  of  the   heavenly  reality  contained  in  it. 
Thus  much  we  see  in  it,  the  pledge  of  a  doctrine 
which  reason  cannot  understand,  viz.  of  the  influence  / 
of  the  prayer  of  faith  upon  the  Divine  counsels.  \ 
The  Intercessor  directs  or  stays  the  hand  of  the  Un- 
changeable and  Sovereign  Governor  of  the  World ; 
being  at  once  the  meritorious  cause  and  the  earnest 
of  the  intercessory  power  of  His  brethren.    "  Christ 
rose  again  for    our  justification,"  "  The   effectual 
fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much," 
are  both  infinite  mercies,  and  deep  mysteries. 

3.  Further  still,  consider  our  Saviour's  words : — 
"  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  go 
not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you." 
He  does  not  tell  us,  why  it  was  that  His  absence 
was   the  condition  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence. 


XVIII.]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  237 

"  If  I  depart,"  He  says,  "  I  will  send  Him  unto 
you."     "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give 
you  another  Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you 
for  ever  ^"     To  the  same  purpose  are  the  following 
texts :  "  He  that  believeth  on  Me,  the  works  that 
I  do  shall  he  do   also;    and   greater  works  than 
these  shall  he  do,  because  I  go  unto  My  Father." 
"  If  ye  loved  Me,  ye  would  rejoice,  because  I  said, 
I  go  unto  the  Father ;  for  My  Father  is  greater 
than  I."     "  Touch   Me   not ;    for  I   am   not   yet 
ascended  to  my  Father ;  but  go  to  my  brethren,  and 
say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  My  Father  and  your 
Father,  and  to  My  God  and  your  God^"     Now 
proud  and  curious  reason  might  seek  to  know  why 
He  could  not  "  pray  the  Father,"  without  going  to 
Him ;  why  He  must  depart  in  order  to  send  the 
Spirit.     But  faith,  without  asking  for  one  ray  of 
light  more  than  is  given,  muses  over  the  wonderful 
system  of  Providence,  as  seen  in  this  world,  which 
is  ever  connecting  events,  between  which  man  sees 
no  necessary  bond.     The  whole  system  of  what  is 
called  cause  and  effect,  is  one  of  mystery ;  and  this 
instance,  if  it  may  be  called  one,  supplies  abundant 
matter  of  praise  and  adoration  to  a  pious  mind.     It 
suggests  to  us,  equally  with  the  topics  which  have 
already  come  before  us,  how  very  much  our  know- 
ledge of  God's  ways  is  but  on  the  surface.    What 
are  those  deep  hidden  reasons  why  Christ  went  and 
the  Spirit  came  ?     Marvellous  and  glorious,  beyond 

'  John  xvi.  7.  xiv.  16.  '  John  xiv.  12.  28.  xx.  17. 


238  ASCENSION  DAY.  [Serm. 

our  understanding !  Let  us  worship  in  silence ; 
meanwhile,  let  us  jealously  maintain  this,  and  every 
other  portion  of  our  Creed,  lest,  by  dropping  jot 
or  tittle,  we  suffer  the  truths  concealed  therein  to 
escape  from  us. 

Moreover,  this  departure  of  Christ,  and  coming 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  leads  our  minds  with  great  com- 
fort to  the  thought  of  many  lower  dispensations  of 
Providence  towards  us.  He,  who  according  to  His 
inscrutable  will,  sent  first  His  Co-equal  Son,  and 
then  His  Eternal  Spirit,  acts  with  deep  counsel, 
which  we  may  surely  trust,  when  He  sends  from 
place  to  place,  those  earthly  instruments  which 
carry  on  His  purposes.  This  is  a  thought  which  is 
particularly  soothing  as  regards  the  loss  of  friends ; 
or  of  especially  gifted  men,  who  seem  in  their  day 
the  earthly  support  of  the  Church.  For  what  we 
know,  their  removal  hence  is  as  necessary  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  very  objects  we  have  at  heart,  as 
was  the  departure  of  our  Saviour. 

Doubtless,  "it  is  expedient"  they  should  be 
taken  away ;  otherwise  some  great  mercy  will  not 
come  to  us.  They  are  taken  away  perchance  to 
other  duties  in  God's  service,  equally  ministrative 
to  the  salvation  of  the  elect,  as  earthly  service. 
Christ  went  to  intercede  with  the  Father :  we  do 
not  know,  we  may  not  boldly  speculate, — yet,  it 
may  be,  that  Saints  departed  intercede,  unknown 
to  us,  for  the  victory  of  the  Truth  upon  earth ;  and 
their  prayers  above  may  be  as  really  indispensable 

i  hk-U:;  '/•  ^aet***t«f^<C  /r4„  rht-v9*\  t\^  *U  ^^ ;  ,      >, 


XVIII.]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  239 

conditions  of  that  victory,  as  the  labours  of  those 
who  remain  among  us.  They  are  taken  away  for 
some  purpose  surely ;  their  gifts  are  not  lost  to  us  ; 
their  soaring  minds,  the  fire  of  their  contemplations, 
the  sanctity  of  their  desires,  the  vigour  of  their 
faith,  the  sweetness  and  gentleness  of  their  affec- 
tions, were  not  given  without  an  object.  Yea, 
doubtless,  they  are  keeping  up  the  perpetual  chant 
in  the  shrine  above,  praying  and  praising  God  day 
and  night  in  His  Temple,  like  Moses  upon  the 
Mount,  while  Joshua  and  his  host  fight  with 
Amalek.  Can  they  be  allotted  greater  blessedness, 
than  to  have  a  station  after  the  pattern  of  that 
Saviour  who  is  departed  hence  ?  Has  He  no  power 
in  the  world's  movements,  because  He  is  away? 
And  though  He  is  the  Living  and  exalted  Lord  of 
all,  and  the  government  is  on  His  shoulder,  and  they 
are  but  His  servants,  without  strength  of  themselves, 
laid  up  moreover  apart  from  the  conflict  of  good 
and  evil  in  the  paradise  of  God,  yet  so  much  light 
as  this  is  given  us  by  the  inspired  pages  of  the 
Apocalypse,  that  they  are  interested  in  the  fortunes 
of  the  Church.  We  read  therein  of  the  Martyrs 
crying  with  a  loud  voice,  "  How  long,  O  Lord, 
holy  and  true,  dost  Thou  not  judge  and  avenge 
our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?"  At 
another  time,  of  the  Elders  "  worshipping  God, 
saying.  We  give  Thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty, which  art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come,  be- 
cause Thou  hast  taken  to  Thee  Thy  great  power 


240  ASCENSION  DAY.  [Sebm. 

and  hast  reigned ;  and  the  nations  were  wrathful, 
but  Thy  wrath  is  come."  And  again  of  the  Saints, 
saying,  "  Great  and  marvellous  are  Thy  works. 
Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and  true  are  Thy  ways, 
Thou  King  of  Saints.  Who  shall  not  fear  Thee, 
O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy  name  ?  for  thou  only  art 
holy ;  for  all  nations  shall  come  and  worship  before 
Thee,  for  Thy  judgments  are  made  manifest  \"  Let 
us  not  forget  that,  though  the  prophecies  of  this 
sacred  book  may  be  still  sealed  up  from  us,  yet  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  are  not ;  and  that  we  lose 
much  both  in  the  way  of  comfort  and  instruction, 
if  we  do  not  use  it  for  the  purposes  of  faith  and 
obedience. 

What  has  been  now  said  about  the  Ascension  of 
our  Lord,  comes  to  this ;  that  we  are  in  a  world 
of  mystery,  with  one  bright  Light  before  us,  suffi- 
cient for  our  proceeding  forward  through  all  diffi- 
culties. Take  away  this  Light,  and  we  are  utterly 
wretched, — we  know  not  where  we  are,  how  we  are 
sustained,  what  will  become  of  us,  and  all  that  is 
dear  to  us,  what  we  are  to  believe,  and  why  we  are 
in  being.  But  with  it  we  have  all,  and  abound. 
Not  to  mention  the  duty  and  wisdom  of  implicit 
faith  in  the  love  of  Him  who  made  and  redeemed 
us,  what  is  nobler,  what  is  more  elevating  and 
transporting,  than  thf;  generosity  of  heart  which 
risks  every  thing  on  God's  word,  dares  the  powers 

'  Rev.  vi.  10.  xi.  17,  18.  xv.  3,  4. 


XVIII.]  MYSTERIES  IN  RELIGION.  241 

of  evil  to  their  worst  eftbrts,  and  repels  the  ilkisions 
of  sense  and  the  artifices  of  reason,  by  confidence 
in  the  truth  of  Him  who  has  ascended  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.   What  infinite  mercy 
it  is  in  Him,  that  He  allows  sinners  such  as  we  are, 
the  privilege  of  acting  the  part  of  heroes  rather 
than  of  penitents  ?     Who  are  we  "  that  we  should 
be  able"  and  have  opportunity  "  to  offer  so  Avillingly 
after  this  sort  ^  ?" — "  Blessed,"  surely  thrice  blessed, 
"  are  they  who  have  not  seen  and    yet  have  be- 
lieved !"    We  will  not  wish  for  sight ;  we  will  enjoy 
our  privilege ;  we  will  triumph  in  the  leave  given  us 
to   go   forward,   "  not   knowing   whither   we   go," 
knowing  that  "  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh 
the  world,  even  our  faith  ^"     It  is  enough  that  our 
Redeemer  liveth ;  that  He  has  been  on  earth  and 
will  come  again.     On  Him  we  venture  our  all ;  we 
can  bear  thankfully  to  put  ourselves  into  His  hands, 
our  interests,  present  and  eternal,  and  the  interests 
of  all  we  love.     Christ  has  died,  "  yea,  rather  is 
risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us.     Who  shall 
separate  us  from  His  love?     Shall  tribulation,  or 
distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or 
peril,  or  sword  ?     Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors,  through  Him  that  loved  us." 

'  1  Chron.  xxix.  14.  '■*  1  John  v.  4. 


H^'^  ^^iV     ^y^M^^'^' 


VOL.  II. 


SERMON   XIX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  PENTECOST. 
THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 


Romans  viii.  9. 

Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwell  in  you. 

God,  the  Son,  has  graciously  vouchsafed  to  reveal 
the  Father  to  His  creatures  from  without ;  God,  the 
Holy  Ghost,  by  inward  communications.  Who  can 
compare  these  separate  works  of  condescension, 
either  of  them  being  beyond  our  understanding? 
We  can  but  silently  adore  the  Infinite  Love  which 
encompasses  us  on  every  side.  The  Son  of  God  is 
called  the  Word,  as  declaring  His  glory  throughout 
created  nature,  and  impressing  the  evidence  of  it 
on  every  part  of  it.  He  has  given  us  to  read  it  in 
His  works  of  goodness,  holiness,  and  wisdom.  He  is 
the  Living  and  Eternal  Law  of  Truth  and  Perfec- 
tion, the  Image  of  God's  unapproachable  Attributes, 
which  men  have  ever  seen  by  glimpses  on  the  face 
of  the  world,  felt  that  it  was  sovereign,  but  knew 
1 


Serm. xix]     the  indwelling  spirit.  243 

not  whether  to  say  it  was  a  fundamental  Rule  and 
self-existing  Destiny,  or  the  Offspring  and  Mirror 
of  the  Divine  Will.  Such  has  He  been  from  the 
beginning,  graciously  sent  forth  from  the  Father  to 
reflect  His  glory  upon  all  things,  distinct  from  Him, 
while  mysteriously  one  with  Him ;  and  in  due  time 
visiting  us  with  an  infinitely  deeper  mercy,  when 
for  our  redemption  He  humbled  Himself  to  take 
upon  Him  that  fallen  nature  which  He  had  originally 
created  after  His  own  image. 

The  condescension  of  the  Blessed  Spirit  is  as  in- 
comprehensible as  that  of  the  Son.  He  has  ever 
been  the  secret  Presence  of  God  within  the  Creation; 
a  source  of  life  amid  the  chaos,  bringing  out  into 
form  and  order  what  was  at  first  shapeless  and  void, 
and  the  voice  of  Truth  in  the  hearts  of  all  rational 
beings,  tuning  them  into  harmony  with  the  inti- 
mations of  God's  Law  which  were  externally  made 
to  them.  Hence  He  is  especially  called  the  "  life- 
giving"  Spirit ;  being,  (as  it  were,)  the  Soul  of  uni- 
versal nature,  the  Strength  of  man  and  beast,  the 
Guide  of  faith,  the  Witness  against  sin,  the  inward 
Light  of  patriarchs  and  prophets,  the  Grace  abiding 
in  the  Christian  soul,  and  the  Lord  and  Ruler  of 
the  Church.  Therefore,  let  us  ever  praise  the  Father 
Almighty,  who  is  the  first  Source  of  all  perfection, 
in  and  together  with  His  co-equal  Son  and  Spirit, 
through  whose  gracious  ministrations  we  have  been 
given  to  see  "  what  manner  of  love"  it  is,  wherewith 
the  Father  has  loved  us. 

r2 


244  WHIT-SUNDAY.  |  Serm. 

On  this  Festival  I  propose,  as  is  suitable,  to  de- 
scribe as  scripturally  as  I  can,  the  merciful  office  of 
God  the  Holy  Ghost,  towards  us  Christians ;  and  I 
trust  I  may  do  so,  with  the  sobriety  and  reverence 
which  the  subject  demands. 

The  Holy  Spirit  has  from  the  beginning  pleaded 
with  man.  We  read  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  that, 
when  evil  began  to  prevail  all  over  the  earth  before 
the  flood,  "  the  Lord  said.  My  Spirit  shall  not 
always  strive  with  man  ^ ;"  implying  that  He  had 
hitherto  striven  with  his  corruption.  Again,  when 
God  took  to  Him  a  peculiar  people,  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  pleased  to  be  especially  present  with  them. 
Nehemiah  says,  "  Thou  gavest  also  Thy  Good 
Spirit  to  instruct  them  ^"  and  Isaiah,  "  They  re- 
belled and  vexed  His  Holy  Spirit  ^"  Further,  He 
manifested  Himself  as  the  source  of  various  gifts, 
intellectual  and  extraordinary,  in  the  Prophets,  and 
others.  Thus,  at  the  time  the  Tabernacle  was  con- 
structed, the  Lord  filled  Bezaleel  "  with  the  Spirit 
of  God,  in  wisdom,  and  in  understanding,  and  in 
knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship,  to 
devise  cunning  works  *"  in  metal,  stone,  and  timber. 
At  another  time,  when  Moses  was  oppressed  with 
his  labours.  Almighty  God  vouchsafed  to  "  take  of 
the  Spirit  * "  which  was  upon  him,  and  to  put  it  on 
seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel,   that  they  might 

'  Gen.  vi.  3.  '  Neh.  ix.  20.  =>  Isa.  Ixiii.  10. 

*  Exod.  xxxi.  3,  4.  '  Numb.  xi.  17.  25. 


XIX.]  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  245 

share  the  burden  with  him.  "  And  it  came  to  pass, 
that  when  the  Spirit  rested  upon  them,  they  pro- 
phesied, and  did  not  cease."  These  texts  will  be 
sufficient  to  remind  you  of  many  others,  in  which 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  spoken  of  under  the 
Jewish  covenant.  These  were  great  mercies  ;  yet, 
great  as  they  were,  they  are  as  nothing  compared 
with  that  surpassing  grace  with  which  we  Christians 
are  honoured  ;  that  great  privilege  of  receiving  into 
our  hearts,  not  the  mere  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  but  His 
very  presence.  Himself,  by  a  real  not  a  figurative 
indwelling. 

When  our  Lord  entered  upon  His  Ministry,  He 
acted  as  though  He  were  a  mere  man,  needing 
gi*ace,  and  received  the  consecration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  our  sakes.  He  became  the  Christ,  or 
Anointed,  that  the  Spirit  might  be  seen  to  come 
from  God,  and  to  pass  from  Him  to  us.  And, 
therefore,  the  heavenly  Gift  is  not  simply  called 
the  Holy  Ghost,  or  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  that  we  might  clearly  understand,  that 
He  comes  to  us  from  and  instead  of  Christ.  Thus 
St.  Paul  says,  "  God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of 
His  Son  into  your  hearts ;"  and  our  Lord  breathed 
on  His  Apostles,  saying,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost ;"  and  He  says  elsewhere  to  them,  "  If  I 
depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you\"  Accordingly, 
this  "Holy  Spirit  of  promise"  is  called  "the  earnest 

'  Gal.  iv.  6.     John  xx.  22.     John  xvi.  7. 


246  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Skrm. 

of  our  inheritance,"  the  seal  and  earnest  of  an 
Unseen  Saviour  ^ ;  being  the  present  pledge  of  Him 
who  is  absent, — or  rather  more  than  a  pledge,  for 
an  earnest  is  not  a  mere  token  which  will  be  taken 
from  us  when  it  is  fulfilled,  as  a  pledge  might  be, 
but  a  something  in  advance  of  what  is  one  day  to 
be  given  in  full. 

This  must  be  clearly  understood ;  for  it  would 
seem  to  follow,  that  if  so,  the  Comforter  which  has 
come  instead  of  Christ,  must  have  vouchsafed  to 
come  in  the  same  sense  in  which  Christ  canie  ;  I 
mean,  that  He  has  come,  not  merely  in  the  way  of 
gifts,  or  of  influences,  or  of  operations,  as  He  came 
j  to  the  Prophets,  for  then  Christ's  going  away  would 
/  be  a  loss,  and  not  a  gain,  and  the  Spirit's  presence 
would  be  a  mere  pledge,  not  an  earnest,  but  He 
I  comes  to  us  as  Christ  came,  by  a  real  and  personal 
I  visitation.     I  do  not  say  we  could  have  inferred 
this  thus  clearly  by  the  mere  force  of  the  above  cited 
texts;  but,  it  being  actually  so  revealed  to  us  in 
other  texts  of  Scripture,  we  are  able  to  see  that  it 
may  be  legitimately  deduced  from  these.     We  are 
able  to  see  that  the  Saviour,  when  once  He  entered 
into  this  world,  never  so  departed  as  to  suffer  things 
to  be  as  before  He  came ;  for  He  still  is  with  us,  not 
in  mere  gifts,  but  by  the  substitution  of  His  Spirit 
for  Himself,  and  that,  both  in  the  Church,  and  in 
the  souls  of  individual  Christians. 

1  Eph.  i.  14.      2  Cor.  i.  22.  v.  5. 


XIX.]  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  247 

For  instance,  St.  Paul  says  in  the  text,  "  Ye  are 
not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you!'  Again,  "  He  shall 
quicken  even  your  mortal  bodies  by  His  Spirit  that 
dwelleth  in  you." — "  Know  ye  not  that  your  body  is 
the  Temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in  you  ?" 
"  Ye  are  the  Temple  of  the  Living  God,  as  God 
hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them." 
The  same  Apostle  clearly  distinguishes  between  the 
indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  and  His  actual  operations 
within  us,  when  he  says,  "  The  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is 
given  unto  us ;"  and  again,  "  The  Spirit  Himself 
beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God  \" 

Here  let  us  observe,  before  proceeding,  what  in- 
direct evidence  is  afforded  us  in  these  texts  of  the 
Divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Who  can  be  personally 
present  at  once  with  every  Christian,  but  God 
Himself?  Who  but  He, — not  merely  ruling  in  the 
midst  of  the  Church  invisibly,  as  Michael  might 
keep  watch  over  Israel,  or  another  Angel  might  be 
"  the  Prince  of  Persia," — but  really  taking  up  His 
abode  as  one  and  the  same  in  many  separate  hearts, 
so  as  to  fulfil  our  Lord's  words,  that  it  was  expe- 
dient that  He  should  depart ;  Christ's  bodily  pre- 
sence, which  was  limited  to  place,  being  exchanged 
for  the  manifold  spiritual  indwelling  of  the  Comforter 

1  Rom.  viii.  9.  11.    1  Cor.  vi.  19.    2  Cor.  vi.  16.  Rom.  v.  5. 

viii.  16. 


218  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Skrm. 

within  us?  This  consideration  suggests  both  the 
dignity  of  our  Sanctifier,  and  the  infinite  precious- 
ness  of  His  office  towards  us. 

To  proceed :  the  Holy  Ghost,  I  have  said,  dwells 
in  body  and  soul,  as  in  a  Temple.  Evil  spirits  in- 
deed have  power  to  possess  sinners,  but  His  in- 
dwelling is  far  more  perfect ;  for  He  is  all-knowing 
and  omnipresent.  He  is  able  to  search  into  all  our 
thoughts,  and  penetrate  into  every  motive  of  the 
heart.  Therefore,  He  pervades  us  (if  it  may  be  so 
said)  as  light  pervades  a  building,  or  as  a  sweet  per- 
fume the  folds  of  some  honourable  robe ;  so  that,  in 
Scripture  language,  we  are  said  to  be  in  Him,  and 
He  in  us.  It  is  plain  that  such  an  inhabitation 
brings  the  Christian  into  a  state  altogether  new  and 
marvellous,  far  above  the  possession  of  mere  gifts, 
exalts  him  inconceivably  in  the  scale  of  beings,  and 
gives  him  a  place  and  an  office  which  he  had  not 
before.  In  St.  Peter's  forcible  language,  he  becomes 
"  partaker  of  the  Divine  Nature,"  and  has  "  power" 
or  authority,  as  St.  Jolm  says,  "  to  become  the  son 
of  God."  Or  to  use  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  he  is 
a  new  creation  ;  old  things  are  passed  away,  behold 
all  things  are  become  new."  His  rank  is  new ;  his 
parentage  and  service  new.  He  is  "  of  God,"  and 
"  is  not  his  own,"  "  a  vessel  unto  honour,  sanctified 
and  meet  for  the  Master's  use,  and  prepared  unto 
every  good  work  \" 

'  2  Pet.  i.  4.  John  i.  12.  2  Cor.  v.  17.  1  John  iv.  4. 
1  Cor.  vi.  19,20.     2  Tim.  ii.  21. 


XIX.]  THE  INDWELLIiNG  SPIRIT.  249 

This  wonderful  change   from  darkness  to  light, 
through  the  entrance  of  the  Spirit  into  the  soul,  is 
called  Regeneration,  or  the  New  Birth ;  a  blessing, 
which  before  Christ's   coming,  not  even  Prophets 
and  righteous  men  possessed,  but  which  is  now 
conveyed  to  all  men  freely  through  the  Sacrament 
of  Baptism.     By  nature  we  are  children  of  wrath  ; 
the  heart  is  sold  under  sin,  possessed  by  evil  spirits, 
and  inherits  death  as  its  eternal  portion.     But  by 
the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  all  guilt  and  pollu- 
tion are  burned  away  as  by  fire,  the  devil  is  driven 
forth,  sin,  original  and  actual,  is  forgiven,  and  the 
whole  man  is  consecrated  to  God.     And  this  is  the 
reason  why  He  is  called  "  the    earnest"   of   that 
Saviour  who  died  for  us,  and  will  one  day  give  us 
the  fulness  of  His  own  presence  in  Heaven.     Hence 
too  He  is  our  "  seal  unto  the  day  of  redemption ;" 
for  as  the  potter  moulds  the  clay,  so  He  impresses 
the  Divine  Image  on  us  members  of  the  household 
of  God.     And  His  work  may  truly  be  called  Rege- 
neration, for  though  the  original  nature  of  the  soul 
is  not   destroyed,  yet   its  past  transgressions   are 
pardoned  once  and  for  ever,  and  its  source  of  evil 
staunched  and  gradually  dried  up  by  the  pervading 
Health  and  Purity  which  has  set  up  its  abode  in 
it.     Instead  of  its  own  bitter  waters,  a  spring  of 
health  and  salvation  is  brought  within  it ;  not  the 
mere  streams  of  that  fountain,  "  clear  as  crystal," 
which  is  before  the  Throne  of  God ',  but,  as  our 
*  Rev.  iv.  6.     Ps.  xlvi.  1. 


250  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

Lord  says,  "  a  well  of  water  in  hiru"  in  a  man's 
heart  "  springing  up  into  everlasting  life."  Hence 
He  elsewhere  describes  the  heart  as  giving  forth, 
not  receiving,  the  streams  of  grace;  "  Out  of  his 
belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  Living  Water."  St.  John 
adds,  "  this  spake  He  of  the  Spirit'." 

Such  is  the  inhabitation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within 
us,  applying  to  us  individually,  the  precious  clean- 
sing of  Christ's  blood  in  all  its  manifold  benefits. 
Such  is  the  great  doctrine,  which  we  hold  as  a 
matter  of  faith,  and  without  actual  experience  to 
verify  it  to  us.  Next,  I  must  speak  briefly  con- 
cerning the  manner  in  which  the  gift  of  grace 
manifests  itself  in  the  regenerate  soul ;  a  subject 
which  I  do  not  willingly  take  up,  and  which  no 
Christian  perhaps  is  ever  able  to  consider  without 
some  effort,  feeling  that  he  thereby  endangers 
either  his  reverence  towards  God,  or  his  humility, 
but  which  the  errors  of  this  day  and  the  confident 
tone  of  their  advocates  oblige  us  to  dwell  upon, 
lest  truth  should  suffer  by  our  silence. 

The  heavenly  gift  of  the  Spirit  fixes  the  eyes  of 
our  mind  upon  the  Divine  Author  of  our  salvation. 
By  nature  we  are  blind  and  carnal ;  but  the  Holy 
Ghost,  by  whom  we  are  new-born,  reveals  to  us  the 
God  of  mercies,  and  bids  us  recognise  and  adore 
Him  as  our  Father  with  a  true  heart.  He  im- 
presses on  us  our  Heavenly  Father's  image,  which 

'   John  iv.  14.  vii.  38,  39. 


XIX.J  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  251 

we  lost  when  Adam  fell,  and  disposes  us  to  seek 
His  presence  by  the  very  instinct  of  our  new  na- 
ture. He  restores  to  us  a  portion  of  that  freedom 
in  willing  and  doing,  of  that  uprightness  and  in- 
nocence, in  which  Adam  was  created.  He  unites 
us  to  all  holy  beings,  as  before  we  had  relationship 
with  evil.  He  restores  for  us  that  broken  bond, 
which  proceeding  from  above,  connects  together 
into  one  blessed  family  all  that  is  any  where  holy 
and  eternal,  and  separates  it  off  from  the  rebel 
world  which  comes  to  nought.  Being  then  the 
sons  of  God,  and  one  with  Him,  our  souls  mount 
up  to  Him,  and  cry  continually.  This  special  cha- 
racteristic of  the  regenerate  soul  is  spoken  of  by  St. 
Paul  soon  after  the  text.  "  Ye  have  received  the 
Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father." 
Nor  are  we  left  to  utter  these  cries  to  Him,  in  any 
vague  uncertain  way  of  our  own ;  but  He  who  sent 
the  Spirit  to  dwell  in  us  habitually,  gave  us  also  a 
form  of  words  to  sanctify  the  separate  acts  of  our 
minds.  Christ  left  His  sacred  Prayer  to  be  the 
peculiar  possession  of  His  people,  and  the  voice  of 
the  Spirit.  If  we  examine  it,  we  shall  find  in  it  the 
substance  of  that  doctrine,  to  which  St.  Paul  has 
given  a  name  in  the  passage  just  quoted.  We 
begin  it  by  using  our  privilege  of  calling  on  Almighty 
God  in  express  words  as  "  our  Father."  We  pro- 
ceed, according  to  this  beginning,  in  that  waiting, 
trusting,  adoring,  resigned  temper,  which  children 
ought  to   feel ;  looking  towards  Him,  rather  than 


252  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Skkm. 

thinking  of  ourselves ;  zealous  for  His  honour, 
rather  than  fearful  about  our  safety ;  resting  in  His 
present  help,  not  with  eyes  timorously  glancing 
towards  the  future.  His  name,  His  kingdom,  His 
will,  are  the  great  objects  for  the  Christian  to  con- 
template and  make  his  portion,  being  stable  and 
serene,  and  "  complete  in  Him,"  as  beseems  one 
who  has  gracious  presence  of  His  Spirit  within 
him.  And,  when  he  goes  on  to  think  of  himself, 
he  prays,  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  have  towards 
others  what  God  has  shown  towards  himself,  a 
spirit  of  forgiveness  and  loving  kindness.  Thus  he 
pours  himself  out  on  all  sides,  first  looking  up  to 
catch  the  heavenly  gift,  but,  when  he  gains  it,  not 
keeping  it  to  himself,  but  diffusing  "  rivers  of  liv- 
ing water,"  to  the  whole  race  of  man,  thinking  of 
self  as  little  as  may  be,  and  desiring  ill  and  de- 
struction to  nothing  but  that  principle  of  tempta- 
tion and  evil,  which  is  rebellion  against  God; — 
lastly,  ending,  as  he  began,  with  the  contemplation 
of  His  kingdom,  power,  and  glory  everlasting. 
This  is  the  true  "  Abba,  Father,"  which  the  Spirit 
of  adoption  utters  within  the  Christian's  heart,  the 
infallible  voice  of  Him  who  "  maketh  intercession 
for  the  Saints  in  God's  way."  And  if  he  has  at 
times,  for  instance,  amid  trial  or  affliction,  special 
visitations  and  comfortings  from  the  Spirit,  "  plaints 
unutterable"  within  him,  yearnings  after  the  life  to 
come,  or  bright  and  passing  gleams  of  God's  eternal 
election,  and  deep  stirrings  of  wonder  and  thank- 


XIX. J  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  253 

fulness  thence  following',  he  thinks  too  reverently 
of  "  the  secret  of  the  Lord,"  to  betray  (as  it  were) 
His  confidence,  and  by  vaunting  it  to  the  world  to 
exaggerate  it  perchance  into  more  than  it  was 
meant  to  convey ;  but  is  silent,  and  ponders  it  as 
choice  encouragement  to  his  soul,  meaning  some- 
thing, but  he  knows  not  how  much. 

2.  The  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  raises  the 
soul,  not  only  to  the  thought  of  God,  but  of  Christ 
also.  St.  John  says,  "  Truly  our  fellowship  is  with 
the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."  And 
our  Lord  Himself,  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will 
keep  My  words ;  and  My  Father  will  love  him,  and 
We  will  come  unto  him  and  make  our  abode  with 
him  ^"  Now,  not  to  speak  of  other  and  higher  ways 
in  which  these  texts  are  fulfilled,  one  surely  consists 
in  that  exercise  of  faith  and  love  in  the  thought  of 
the  Father  and  Son,  which  the  Gospel,  and  the 
Spirit  revealing  it,  furnish  to  the  Christian.  The 
Spirit  came  especially  to  "  glorify"  Christ ;  and 
vouchsafes  to  be  a  shining  Light  within  the  Church 
and  the  individual  Christian,  reflecting  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  in  all  His  perfections,  all  His  oflfices, 
all  His  works.  He  came  for  the  purpose  of  un- 
folding what  was  yet  hidden,  while  Christ  was  on 
earth;  and  speaks  on  the  house-tops  what  was 
delivered  in  closets,  disclosing  Him  in  the  glories 
of  His  transfiguration,  who  once  had  no  comeliness 

'   1  John  i.  3.     John  xiv.  23. 


254  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Sbrm. 

in  His  outward  form,  and  was  but  a  man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief.  First,  He  inspired  the 
Holy  Evangelists  to  record  the  life  of  Christ,  and 
directed  them  which  of  His  words  and  works  to 
select,  which  to  omit ;  next.  He  commented  (as  it 
were)  upon  these  and  unfolded  their  meaning  in  the 
Apostolic  Epistles.  The  birth,  the  life,  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Christ,  has  been  the  text  which 
He  has  illuminated.  He  has  made  history  to  be 
doctrine  ;  telling  us  plainly,  whether  by  St.  John  or 
St.  Paul,  that  Christ's  conception  and  birth  was  the 
real  Incarnation  of  the  Eternal  Word,  His  life, 
"  God  manifest  in  the  Flesh,"  His  death  and  resur- 
rection, the  Atonement  for  sin,  and  the  Justification 
of  all  believers.  Nor  was  this  all :  He  continued 
His  sacred  comment  in  the  formation  of  the  Church, 
superintending  and  overruling  its  human  instru- 
ments, and  bringing  out  our  Saviour's  words  and 
works,  and  the  Apostles'  illustrations  of  them,  into 
acts  of  obedience  and  permanent  Ordinances,  by 
the  ministry  of  Saints  and  Martyrs.  Lastly,  He 
completes  His  gracious  work  by  conveying  this 
system  of  Truth,  thus  varied  and  expanded,  to  the 
heart  of  each  individual  Christian  in  whom  He 
dwells.  Thus  He  vouchsafes  to  edify  the  whole 
man  in  faith  and  holiness ;  "  casting  down  imagi- 
nations and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself 
against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  into 
captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ '." 

*  2  Cor.  X.  5. 


XIX.]  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  255 

By  His  wonder-working  grace  all  things  tend  to 
perfection.  Every  faculty  of  the  mind,  every  de- 
sign, pursuit,  subject  of  thought,  is  hallowed  in  its 
degree  by  the  abiding  vision  of  Christ,  as  Lord, 
Saviour,  and  Judge.  All  solemn,  reverent,  thank- 
ful, and  devoted  feelings,  all  that  is  noble,  all  that 
is  choice  in  the  regenerate  soul,  all  that  is  self-deny- 
ing in  conduct,  and  zealous  in  action,  is  drawn  forth 
and  offered  up  by  the  Spirit  as  a  living  sacrifice  to 
the  Son  of  God.  And,  though  the  Christian  is 
taught  not  to  think  of  himself  above  his  measure, 
and  dare  not  boast,  yet  he  is  also  taught  that  the 
consciousness  of  the  sin  which  remains  in  him  and 
infects  his  best  services,  should  not  separate  him 
from  God,  but  lead  him  to  Him  who  can  save  ;  he 
reasons  with  St.  Peter,  "  To  whom  should  he  go  ?" 
and,  without  daring  to  decide,  or  being  impatient  to 
be  told  how  far  he  is  able  to  consider  as  his  own 
every  Gospel  privilege  in  its  fulness,  he  gazes  on 
them  all  with  deep  thought  as  the  Church's  pos- 
session, joins  her  triumphant  hymns  in  honour  of 
Christ,  and  listens  wistfully  to  her  voice  in  inspired 
Scripture,  the  voice  of  the  Bride  calling  upon  and 
blest  in  the  Beloved. 

3.  St.  John  adds,  after  speaking  of  "  our  fellow- 
ship with  the  Father  and  His  Son ;"  "  These  things 
write  we  unto  you,  that  your  joy  may  be  full."  What 
is  fulness  of  joy  but  peace  f  Joy  is  tumultuous  only 
when  it  is  not  full ;  but  peace  is  the  privilege  of  those 


256  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Sfrm. 

who  are  "  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  "  Thou 
wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is 
stayed  on  Thee,  because  he  trusteth  in  Thee  \"  It 
is  peace,  springing  from  trust  and  innocence,  and 
then  overflowing  in  love  towards  all  around  him. 
What  is  the  effect  of  mere  animal  ease  and  enjoy- 
ment, but  to  make  a  man  pleased  with  every  thing 
which  happens  ?  "A  merry  heart  is  a  perpetual 
feast ;"  and  such  is  peculiarly  the  blessing  of  a  soul 
rejoicing  in  the  faith  and  fear  of  God.  He  who  is 
anxious,  thinks  of  himself,  is  suspicious  of  danger, 
speaks  hurriedly,  and  has  no  time  for  the  interests 
of  others ;  he  who  lives  in  peace  is  at  leisure,  where- 
ever  his  lot  is  cast.  Such  is  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  heart,  whether  in  Jew  or  Greek,  bond 
or  free.  He  Himself  perchance  in  His  mysterious 
nature,  is  the  Eternal  Love  whereby  the  Father  and 
the  Son  have  dwelt  in  each  other,  as  ancient  writers 
have  believed ;  and  what  He  is  in  Heaven,  that  He 
is  abundantly  on  earth.  He  lives  in  the  Christian's 
heart,  as  the  never-failing  fount  of  charity,  which  is 
the  very  sweetness  of  the  living  waters.  For  where 
He  is,  "  there  is  liberty"  from  the  tyranny  of  sin, 
from  the  dread,  which  the  natural  man  feels,  of  an 
offended,  unreconciled  Creator.  Doubt,  gloom,  im- 
patience have  been  expelled ;  joy  in  the  Gospel 
has   taken  their  place,  the  hope  of  Heaven,  and 

*  Is.  xxvi.  3. 


XIX]  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT.  ^7 

the  harmony  of  a  pure  heart,  the  triumph  of  self- 
mastery,  sober  thoughts,  and  a  contented '  mind. 
How  can  charity  towards  all  men  fail  to  follow, 
beinof  the  mere  affectionateness  of  innocence  and 
peace  ?  Thus  the  Spirit  of  God  creates  in  us  the 
simplicity  and  warmth  of  heart  which  children 
have,  nay,  rather  the  perfections  of  His  heavenly 
hosts,  high  and  low  joined  together  in  His  mysteri- 
ous work ;  implicit  trust,  ardent  love,  abiding  purity, 
belonging  both  to  little  children  and  to  the  adoring 
Seraphim ! 

Thoughts,  such  as  these,  will  affect  us  rightly,  if 
they  make  us  fear  and  be  watchful,  while  we  rejoice. 
They  cannot  surely  do  otherwise ;  for  the  mind  of  a 
Christian,  as  I  have  been  attemping  to  describe  it,  is 
not  so  much  what  we  have,  as  what  we  ought  to  have. 
To  look  indeed,  after  dwelling  on  it,  upon  the  multi- 
tude of  men  who  have  been  baptized  in  Christ's 
name,  is  too  serious  a  matter,  and  we  need  not  force 
ourselves  to  do  so.  We  need  not  do  so,  further  than 
to  pray  for  them,  and  to  protest  and  strive  against 
what  is  evil  among  them ;  for  as  to  the  higher  and 
more  solemn  thought,  how  persons,  set  apart  indi- 
vidually and  collectively,  as  Temples  of  Truth  and 
Holiness,  should  become  what  they  seem  to  be,  and 
what  their  state  is  in  consequence  in  God's  sight, 
is  a  question,  which  it  is  a  great  blessing  to  be  1 
allowed  to  put  from  us  as  not  our  concern.  It  is 
our  concern  only  to  look  to  ourselves,  and  to  see 
that  as  we  have  received  the  gift,  we  "  grieve  not  the 

VOL.  II.  s 


258  WHIT-SUNDAY.  [Serm.  XIX. 

Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  we  are  sealed  unto  the 
day  of  redemption ;"  remembering  that  "  if  any  man 
destroy  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy." 
This  reflection,  and  the  recollection  of  our  many 
backslidings,  will  ever  keep  us,  please  God,  from 
judging  others,  or  from  priding  ourselves  on  our 
privileges.  Let  us  but  consider  how  we  have 
fallen  from  the  light  and  grace  of  our  Baptism. 
Were  we  now  what  that  Holy  Sacrament  made  us, 
we  might  ever  "  go  on  our  way  rejoicing ;"  but 
having  sullied  our  heavenly  garments,  in  one  way 
or  other,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  (God  knoweth  ! 
and  our  own  consciences  too  in  a  measure,)  alas  ! 
the  Spirit  of  adoption  has  in  part  receded  from  us, 
and  the  sense  of  guilt,  remorse,  sorrow,  and  peni- 
tence must  take  His  place.  We  must  renew  our 
confession,  and  seek  afresh  our  absolution  day  by 
day,  before  we  dare  call  upon  God  as  "  our  Father," 
or  offer  up  Psalms  and  Intercessions  to  Him.    And, 

^  whatever  pain  and  affliction  meets  us  through  life, 
we  must  take  it  as  a  merciful  penance  imposed 
by  a  Father  upon  erring  children,  to  be  borne 
meekly  and  thankfully,  and  as  intended  to  remind 
us  of  the  weight  of  that  infinitely  greater  punish- 

:  ment,  which  was  our  desert  by  nature,  and  which 

.  Christ  bore  for  us  on  the  Cross. 


SERMON    XX. 


MONDAY  IN  WHITSUN  WEEK. 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE   SAINTS. 


Dan.  ii.  35. 


The  stone  that  smote  the  Image  became  a  great  Mountain,  and 
filled  the  whole  earth. 

Doubtless,  could  we  see  the  course  of  God's  Dis- 
pensations in  this  world,  as  the  Angels  see  them, 
we  should  not  be  able  to  deny  that  it  was  His  un- 
seen hand  that  ordered  them.  Even  the  most  pre- 
sumptuous sinner  would  find  it  hopeless  to  withstand 
the  marks  of  Divine  Agency  in  them ;  and  would 
"  believe  and  tremble."  This  is  what  moves  the 
Saints  in  the  Apocalypse,  to  praise  and  adore  Al- 
mighty God, — the  view  of  His  wonderful  works  seen 
as  a  whole  from  first  to  last.  "  Great  and  marvel- 
lous are  Thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and 
true  are  Thy  ways.  Thou  King  of  Saints  !  Who  shall 
not  fear  Thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy  name '  V* 

•  Rev.  XV.  3,  4. 
s2 


260  WHIT-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

And  perchance  such  a  contemplation  of  the  Pro- 
vidences of  God,  whether  in  their  own  personal 
history,  or  in  the  affairs  of  their  own  country,  or 
of  the  Church,  or  of  the  world  at  large,  may  be  one 
of  the  blessed  occupations  of  God's  elect  in  the  In- 
termediate State.  However,  even  to  us  sinners,  who 
have  neither  secured  our  crown  like  the  Saints  de- 
parted, much  less  are  to  be  compared  to  the  Angels 
who  "  excel  in  strength,  that  do  His  commandments, 
hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  His  Word  V  even  to 
us  is  vouchsafed  some  insight  into  God's  Providence, 
by  means  of  the  records  of  it.  History  and  Prophecy 
are  given  us  as  informants,  and  reflect  various  lights 
upon  His  Attributes  and  Will,  whether  separately 
or  in  combination.  The  text  suggests  to  us  an 
especial  instance  of  this  privilege,  in  the  view  allowed 
us  of  the  introduction  and  propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  it  will  be  fitting  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  when  we  especially  commemorate  its  first 
public  manifestation  in  the  Holy  Ghost's  descent 
upon  the  Apostles,  to  make  some  remarks  upon  the 
wonderful  Providence  of  God  as  seen  in  it. 

The  words  of  Daniel  in  the  text  form  part  of  the 
disclosure  he  was  inspired  to  make  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, of  the  dream  that  "  troubled"  him.  After 
describing  the  great  Image,  with  a  head  of  fine 
gold,  arms  of  silver,  belly  and  thighs  of  brass,  legs 
of  iron,  and  feet  of  iron  and  clay,  by  which  were 

•  Ps.  ciii.  20. 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  201 

signified  the  four  Empires  which  preceded  the  com- 
ing of  Christ,  he  goes  on  to  foretell  the  rise  of 
Christianity  in  these  words :  "  Thou  sawest  till  that 
a  stone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which  smote  the 
Image  upon  his  feet,  which  were  of  iron  and  clay, 
and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then  was  the  iron,  the 
clay,  the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  in 
pieces  together,  and  became  like  the  chaff,"  heavy 
and  costly  as  the  metals  were,  they  became  as  light 
as  chaff  "  of  the  summer  threshing  floors,  and  the 
wind  carried  them  away ....  And  the  stone  that 
smote  the  image,  became  a  great  Mountain,  and 
filled  the  whole  earth." 

Afterwards,  he  adds  this  interpretation ;  "  In  the 
days  of  these  kings,  shall  the  God  of  Heaven  set  up 
a  Kingdom  which  shall  never  be  destroyed ;  and 
the  Kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but 
it  shall  break  in  pieces,  and  consume  all  these  king- 
doms, and  it  shall  stand  for  ever." 

This  prophecy  of  Daniel  is  fulfilled  among  us,  at 
this  day.  We  know  it  is  so.  Those  four  idol  king- 
doms are  gone,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  made 
without  human  hands,  remains,  and  is  our  own 
blessed  portion.  But  to  speak  thus  summarily,  is 
scarcely  to  pay  due  honour  to  God's  work,  or  to 
reap  the  full  benefit  of  our  knowledge  of  it.  Let  us 
then  look  into  the  details  of  this  great  Providence, 
the  history  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation. 

1.  Observe  what  it  was  that  took  place.  There 
have  been  many  kingdoms  before  and  since  Christ 


262  WHIT-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

came,  which  have  been  set  up  and  extended  by  the 
sword.     This,   indeed,   is   the  only  way  in  which 
earthly  power  grows.     Wisdom  and  skill  direct  its 
movements,  but  the  arm  of  force  is  the  instrument 
of  its  aggrandisement.     And  an  unscrupulous  con- 
science, a   hard  heart,  and  guilty  deeds,  are  the 
usual  attendants  upon  its  growth :  which  is,  in  one 
form  or  other,  but  usurpation,   invasion,  conquest, 
and  tyranny.     It  rises  against  its  neighbours,  and 
increases  by  external  collisions  and  a  visible  exten- 
sion. .  But  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  was  the 
internal  developement  of  one  and  the  same  prin- 
ciple in  various   countries  at   once,   and  therefore 
may  be  suitably  called,  invisible,  and  not  of  this 
world.     The  Jewish  Nation  did  not  "  push  west- 
ward, and  northward,  and  southward  ;"  but  a  spirit 
went  out  from  its  Church  into  all  lands,  and  where- 
ever  it  came,  there  a  new  Order  of  things  forthwith 
arose  in  the  bosom  of  strangers ;  arose  simultane- 
ously, independently  in  each  place,  and  recognising 
its  fellows  in  other  places  only  when  they  were 
already  brought  into  existence.     We  know  indeed 
that  the  Apostles  were  the  instruments,  the  secret 
emissaries  (as  they  might  be  called)  of  this  work ; 
but,  I  am  speaking  of  the  appearance  of  things,  as 
a  heathen  might  regard  them.     Who  among  the 
wise  men  or  the  disputers  of  this  world,  will  take 
account  of  a  few   helpless  men  wandering  about 
from   place   to  place,  and  preaching  a  new  doc- 
trine ?      It  never  can  be  believed,  it  is  impossible 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  263 

that  they  should  be  the  real  agents  of  the  revolution 
which  followed.     So  we  maintain,  and  the  world's 
philosophy  must  be   consistent   enough  to    agree 
with  us.     It  looked  down  upon  the  Apostles  in 
their  day;  it  said  they  could  effect  nothing;  let 
it  say  the  same  thing  now  in  common  fairness. 
Surely  to   the  philosophy    of  this  world   it  must 
appear  as  absurd  to  ascribe  great  changes  to  such 
weak  vessels,  as  to  attribute  them  to  some  imaginary 
unseen  agents,  to  the  heavenly  hosts  whose  exist- 
ence it  disbelieves.     As  it  would  account  the  hypo- 
thesis of  Angelic  interference  gratuitous,  so  did  it 
then,  and  must  still,  pronounce  that  of  the  Apos- 
tles' efforts  insufficient.     Its  own  witness  in  the 
beginning  becomes  our  evidence  now.     Dismissing 
then  the  thought  of  the  feeble  and  despised  preach- 
ers, who  went  to  and  fro,  let  us  see  what  really 
happened.     In  the  midst  of  a  great  Empire,  such 
as  the  world  had  never  seen,  powerful  and  crafty 
beyond  all  former    empires,  more   extensive,  and 
better  organized,   suddenly  a  new  Kingdom  arose. 
Suddenly  in  every  part  of  this  well-cemented  Em- 
pire, in  the  East  and  West,  North  and  South,  as  if 
by  some  general  understanding,  yet,  without  any 
sufficient   system  of  correspondence  or  centre  of 
influence,  ten  thousand  orderly  societies,  professing 
the  same  principles,  and  disciplined  upon  the  same 
polity,  sprang  up  as  from  the  earth.     It  seemed 
as  though  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were 
broken  up,  and  some  new  forms  of  creation  were 


264  WHIT-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

thrown  forward  from  below,  the  manifold  ridges  of 
some  "  great  Mountain,"  crossing,  splitting,  dis- 
arranging the  existing  system  of  things,  levelling 
the  hills,  filling  up  the  valleys, — irresistible  as  be- 
ing sudden,  unforeseen,  and  unprovided  for, — till 
it  "  filled  the  whole  earth  '."  This  was  indeed  a 
"  new  thing ;"  and  independent  of  all  reference  to 
prophecy,  is  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the 
world  before  or  since,  and  calculated  to  excite  the 
deepest  interest  and  amazement  in  any  really  phi- 
losophical mind.  Throughout  the  kingdoms  and 
provinces  of  Rome,  while  all  things  looked  as  usual, 
the  sun  rising  and  setting,  the  seasons  continuing, 
men's  passions  swaying  them  as  from  the  beginning, 
their  thoughts  set  on  their  worldly  business,  or  their 
gain,  or  their  pleasures,  on  their  ambitious  pros- 
pects and  quarrels,  warrior  measuring  his  strength 
with  warrior,  politicians  plotting,  and  kings  ban- 
quetting,  suddenly  this  portent  came  as  a  snare 
upon  the  whole  earth.  Suddenly,  men  found  them- 
selves encompassed  with  foes,  as  a  camp  surprised 
by  night.  And  the  nature  of  this  hostile  host  was 
still  more  strange,  (if  possible)  than  the  coming  of 
it.  It  was  not  a  foreigner  who  invaded  them, 
not  barbarian  from  the  north,  nor  a  rising  of  slaves, 
nor  an  armament  of  pirates,  but  the  enemy  rose  up 
from  among  themselves.  The  first-born  in  every 
house  "  from    the    first-born  of  Pharaoh    on  the 

>  Is.  xli.  15,  16. 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  265 

throne,  to  the  first-born  of  the  captive  in  the  dun- 
geon," unaccountably  found  himself  enlisted  in  the 
ranks  of  this  new  power,  and  estranged  from  his 
natural  friends.     Their  brother,  the  son  of  their 
mother,  the  wife  of  their  bosom,  the  friend  that  was 
as  their  own  soul,  these  were  the  sworn  soldiers 
of   the    "  mighty  army,"  that  "  covered   the  face 
of  the  whole  earth."     Next  when  they  began  to 
interrogate  this  enemy  of  Roman  greatness,  they 
found  no  vague  profession  among  them,  no  varying 
account  of  themselves,  no  irregular  and  uncertain 
plan  of  action  or  conduct.     They  were  all  mem- 
bers of  strictly   and  similarly  organized  societies. 
Every  one  in  his  own  district  was  the  subject  of  a 
new  state,  of  which  there  was  one  visible  head,  and 
officers  under  him.     These  small  kingdoms  were 
indefinitely  multiplied,  each  of  them  the  fellow  of 
the  other.     Wherever   the  Roman  Emperor  tra- 
velled, there  he  found  these  seeming  rivals  of  his 
power,  the  Bishops  of  the  Church.     Further,  they 
one  and  all  refused  to  obey  his  orders,  and  the  pre- 
scriptive laws  of  Rome,  so  far  as  religion  was  con- 
cerned.     The  authority   of    the   Pagan   Religion, 
which  in  the  minds  of  Romans  was  identified  with 
the  history   of  their  greatness,  was  plainly  set  at 
nought  by  these  upstart  monarchies.     At  the  same 
time    they    professed     and    observed    a    singular 
patience  and  subjection  to  the  civil  powers.     They 
did  not  stir  hand  or  foot  in  self-defence  ;  they  sub- 
mitted to  die,   nay,  accounted  death  the  greatest 
privilege  that  could  be  inflicted   on  them.     And 


266  WHIT-MONDAY.  [Seum. 

further,  they  avowed  one  and  all  the  same  doctrine 
clearly  and  boldly ;  and  they  professed  to  receive 
it  from  one  and  the  same  source.  They  traced  it 
up  through  the  continuous  line  of  their  Bishops  to 
certain  twelve  or  fourteen  Jews,  who  professed  to 
have  received  it  from  Heaven.  Moreover,  they 
were  bound  one  to  another  by  the  closest  ties  of 
fellow  ship ;  the  society  of  each  place  to  its  ruler, 
and  their  rulers  one  with  another  by  an  intimate 
alliance  all  over  the  earth.  And  lastly,  in  spite  of 
persecution  from  without,  and  occasional  dissen- 
sions from  within,  they  so  prospered,  that  within 
three  centuries  from  their  first  appearance  in  the 
Empire,  they  forced  its  sovereigns  to  become  mem- 
bers of  their  confederation ;  nay,  nor  ended  there, 
but,  as  the  civil  power  declined  in  strength,  they 
became  its  patrons  instead  of  its  victims,  mediated 
between  it  and  its  barbarian  enemies,  and  after 
burying  it  in  peace  when  its  hour  came,  took  its 
place,  won  over  the  invaders,  subdued  their  kings, 
and  at  length  ruled  as  supreme ;  ruled,  united  under 
one  head,  in  the  very  scenes  of  their  former  suffer- 
ing, in  the  territory  of  the  Empire,  with  Rome  itself, 
the  seat  of  the  Imperial  government,  as  a  centre.  I 
am  not  entering  into  the  question  of  doctrine,  any 
more  than  of  prophecy.  I  am  not  inquiring  how 
far  this  victorious  Kingdom  was  by  this  time  per- 
verted from  its  original  character ;  but  only  direct- 
ing attention  to  the  historical  phenomenon.  How 
strange  then  is  the  course  of  the  Dispensation! 
Five  centuries  compass  the  rise  and  fall  of  other 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  267 

kingdoms ;  but  ten  were  not  enough  for  the  full 
aggrandisement  of  this.  Its  sovereignty  was  but 
commencing,  when  other  powers  have  run  their 
course  and  ^e  exhausted.  And  now  to  this  day, 
that  original  Dynasty,  begun  by  the  Apostles,  en- 
dures. Through  all  changes  of  civil  affairs,  of  race, 
of  language,  of  opinion,  the  succession  of  Rulers 
then  begun,  has  lasted  on,  and  still  represents  in 
every  country  its  original  founders.  "  Instead  of  its 
fathers,  it  has  had  children,  who  have  been  princes 
in  all  lands."  Truly,  this  is  the  vision  of  a  "  stone 
cut  out  without  hands"  "  smiting"  the  idols  of  the 
world,  "  breaking  them  in  pieces,"  scattering  them 
"  like  chaff,"  and,  in  their  place  "  filling  the  whole 
earth."  If  there  be  a  Moral  Governor  over  the 
world,  is  there  not  something  unearthly  in  all  this, 
something  which  we  are  forced  to  refer  to  Him 
from  its  marvellousness,  something  which  from  its 
dignity  and  greatness  bespeaks  His  hand  ? 

2.  Now,  with  this  wonderful  phenomenon  before 
U8,  let  us  consider  well  the  language  of  Christ  and 
His  Apostles.  In  the  very  infancy  of  their  King- 
dom, while  travelling  through  the  cities  of  Israel, 
or  tossed  to  and  fro  as  outcasts  among  the  heathen, 
they  speak  confidently,  solemnly,  calmly,  of  its 
destined  growth  and  triumph.  Observe  our  Lord's 
language  ;  "  Jesus  came  into  Galilee,  preaching  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  saying,  The 
time  is  fulfilled,  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  at 
hand  ;  repent  ye,  and  believe  the  Gospel."     Again, 

1 


268  WHIT-MONDAY.  [Seem. 

"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
My  Church  ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it."  "  I  appoint  unto  you  a  Kingdom, 
as  My  Father  hath  appointed  unto  Me ;  that  ye 
may  eat  and  drink  at  My  table  in  my  kingdom, 
and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  Twelve  Tribes  of 
Israel."  "  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  to  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  a  man  took  and 
sowed  in  his  field ;  which  indeed  is  the  least  of  all 
seeds,  but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest  among 
Jierbs^  and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the 
air  come  and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof r  Is  it 
possible  to  doubt  that  Christ  contemplated  in  these 
words  the  overshadowing  sovereignty  of  His  king- 
dom ?  Let  it  be  observed  that  the  figure  used  is  the 
same  applied  by  Daniel  to  the  Assyrian  Empire. 
"  The  tree  that  thou  sawest,"  he  says  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, "  which  grew  and  was  strong  ....  upon 
whose  branches  the  fowls  of  the  Heaven  had  their 
habitation,  it  is  thou,  O  King."  How  wondrously 
was  the  parallel  prophecy  fulfilled,  when  the  mighty 
men  of  the  earth  fled  for  refuge  to  the  Holy  Church  ! 
Again,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned  ^"  With  what  "  authority" 
He  speaks !     What  majestic  simplicity,  what  unhe- 


*  Mark  i.  14,  15.    Matt.  xvi.  18.    Luke  xxii.  29,  30.    Matt. 
xiii.  31,  32.    Dan.  iv.  20.  22.     Mark  vi.  1.5,  IG. 

fit.  Lu^  <^d.<L  '^ c^^d 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  269 

sitating  resolve,  what  commanding  superiority  is  in 
His  words  !  Reflect  upon  them  in  connection  with 
tlie  event. 

On  the  other  hand,  consider  in  what  language  He 
speaks  of  that  disorganization  of  society,  which  was 
to  attend  the  establishment  of  His  kingdom.  "  I 
am  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth ;  and  what  will 
I,  if  it  be  already  kindled  ?  But  I  have  a  baptism 
to  be  baptized  with,  and  now  am  I  straitened  till  it 
be  accomplished  !"  "  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to 
send  peace  on  earth ;  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but 
a  sword.  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 
against  his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her 
mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against  the  mother- 
in-law  ;  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 
household."  "  The  brother  shall  betray  the  brother 
to  death,  and  the  father  the  son ;  and  children  shall 
rise  up  against  their  parents,  and  shall  cause  them 
to  be  put  to  death ;  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all 
men  for  My  name's  sake.  ...  In  those  days,  after 
that  tribulation,  the  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the 
moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  of 
heaven  shall  fall,  and  the  powers  of  heaven  shall 
be  shaken  ^"  In  the  last  words,  whatever  difficulty 
there  may  be  in  the  chronological  arrangement,  is 
contained  a  clear  announcement  under  the  recog- 
nised prophetical  symbols,  of  the  destruction,  sooner 
or  later,  of  existing  political  institutions.     In  like 

'  Luke  xii.  49,  50.    Matt.  x.  34—36.    Mark  xiii.  12, 13.  24,  25. 


270  WHIT-MONDAY.  [Serm. 

manner,  observe  how  St.  Paul  takes  for  granted  the 
troubles  which  were  coming  on  the  earth,  and  the 
rise  of  the  Christian  Church  amidst  them,  and  rea- 
sons on  all  this  as  if  already  realized.  "  Now  hath 
He  promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not 
the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven.  And  this  word,  yet 
once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those  things 
that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  are  made,  that 
those  things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain. 
Wherefore  we  receiving  a  Kingdom  which  cannot 
be  moved,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve 
God  acceptably  with  reverence  and  godly  fear  ^" 

The  language,  of  which  the  above  is  but  a  speci- 
men, is  the  more  remarkable,  because  neither  Christ 
nor  His  Apostles  looked  forward  to  these  wonderful 
changes  with  exultation,  but  with  a  deep  feeling  of 
mingled  joy  and  sadness,  as  foreboding  those  miser- 
able corruptions  in  the  Church,  which  all  Christians 
allow  to  have  since  taken  place,  though  they  may 
differ  in  their  account  of  them.  "  Because  iniquity 
shall  abound,  the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold  .  .  . 
There  shall  arise  false  Christs  and  false  prophets, 
and  shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders ;  insomuch 
that,  if  it  were  possible,  they  thall  deceive  the  very 
elect.  Behold,  I  have  told  you  before."  "  In  the 
last  days,  perilous  times  shall  come.  For  men  shall 
be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous,  boasters,  .  .  . 
traitors,  heady,  highminded  .  .  .  having   a  form  of 

'  Heb.  xii.  26—28. 


XX.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  271 

godliness,  but  denying  the  power  thereof.  .  .  .  Evil 
men  and  seducers  shall  wax  worse  and  worse, 
deceiving  and  being  deceived  '." 

Now,  if  we  had  nothing  more  to  bring  forward 
than  the  two  considerations  which  have  been  here 
insisted  on,  the  singular  history  of  Christianity,  and 
the  clear  and  confident  anticipation  of  it  by  its  first 
preachers,  we  should  have  enough  of  evidence,  one 
would  think,  to  subdue  the  most  diflficult  inquirer  to 
a  belief  of  its  divinity.  But,  to-morrow  we  will  see, 
please  God,  whether  something  may  not  be  added 
to  the  above  view  of  it. 

'  Matt.  xxiv.  12.  24,  25.     2  Tim.  Hi.  1—5.  13. 


SERMON    XXL 


TUESDAY  IN  WHITSUN  WEEK. 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


Dan.  ii.  35. 


The  stone  that  smote  the  Image,  became  a  great  Mountain, 
and  filled  the  whole  earth. 

Yesterday  I  drew  your  notice  to  the  outlines  of 
the  history  of  the  Church,  and  the  clear  and  precise 
anticipation  of  it,  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles. 
The  Gospel  Dispensation  is  confessedly  a  singular 
phenomenon  in  human  affairs;  singular,  whether 
we  consider  the  extent  it  occupies  in  history,  the 
harmony  of  its  system,  the  consistency  of  its  design, 
its  contrariety  to  the  existing  course  of  things,  and 
success  in  spite  of  that  contrariety,  and  lastly,  the 
avowed  intention  of  its  first  preachers  to  effect  those 
objects,  which  it  really  has  attained.  They  pro- 
fessed to  be  founding  a  Kingdom  ;  a  new  Kingdom, 
different  from  any  that  had  been  before,  as  disclaim- 
ing the  use  of  force, — in  this  world,  yet  not  of  this 
world, — while  it  was  to  be,  notwithstanding,  of  an 
aggressive  and  encroaching  character,  an  empire  of 


XXL]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  273 

conquest  and  aggrandizement,  destroying  all  former 
powers,  and  itself  standing  for  ever.  Infidels  often 
object  to  us,  that  our  interpretation  of  the  Scripture 
prophecies  concerning  Christ's  Kingdom,  is  after 
all  but  allegorical,  and  therefore  evasive.  Not  so ; 
we  are  on  the  whole  willing  to  take  our  stand  on  their 
literal  fulfilment.  Christ  preached  that  "  the  king- 
dom of  God  was  at  hand."  He  founded  it,  and 
made  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  His  Vice-gerents 
in  it  after  His  departure,  and  He  announced  its  in- 
definite extension,  and  its  unlimited  duration.  And, 
in  matter  of  fact,  it  exists  to  this  day,  with  its 
government  vested  in  the  very  dynasty  which  His 
Apostles  began,  and  its  territory  spread  over  more 
than  the  world  then  known  to  the  Jews;  with 
varying  success  indeed  in  times  and  places,  and 
varying  consistency  and  unanimity  within;  yet, 
after  making  every  allowance  for  such  partial  fail- 
ures, strictly  a  visible  power,  with  a  political  influence 
founded  on  invisible  pretensions.  Thus  the  antici- 
pations of  its  founders  ^re  unparalleled  in  their 
novelty,  their  boldness,  and  their  correctness.  To 
continue  our  review. 

3.  If  the  Christian  Church  has  spread  its  branches 
high  and  wide  over  the  earth,  its  roots  are  fixed  as 
deep  below  the  surface.  The  intention  of  Christ 
and  His  Apostles,  on  which  I  have  dwelt,  is  itself 
but  the  accomplishment  of  ancient  prophecy. 

First,  let  it  be  observed  that  there  was  an  exist- 
ing belief  among  the  heathen,  at  the  time  of  its 

VOL.  II.  T 


274  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

rise,  that  out  of  the  East  a  new  Empire  of  the  world 
was  destined  to  issue  \  This  rumour,  however 
originating,  was  known  at  Rome,  the  then  seat  of 
dominion,  and  is  recorded  by  a  Roman  historian. 
Next,  it  became  matter,  (as  it  would  seem,)  for 
heathen  poetry.  The  most  celebrated  of  Roman 
poets  has  foretold  the  coming  of  a  new  Kingdom  of 
peace  and  righteousness  under  the  rule  of  a  divine 
and  divinely  favoured  King,  who  was  to  be  bom  into 
the  world.  Could  it  be  maintained  that  he  wrote 
from  his  own  imagination,  not  from  existing  tradi- 
tions, this  would  not  at  all  diminish  the  marvel,  as 
not  in  any  measure  tending  to  account  for  it.  In  that 
case,  the  poet  would  but  take  his  place  among  the 
Prophets.  Further,  if  we  admit  St.  Matthew's  tes- 
timony, which  we  have  no  excuse  for  doubting,  we 
must  believe,  that,  just  at  the  time  of  Christ's  birth, 
certain  Eastern  Sages  came  to  Jerusalem  in  search 
of  a  child,  of  whom  they  expected  great  things,  and 
whom  they  desired  to  worship  in  His  cradle.  And 
lastly,  another  Eastern  Sage,  fourteen  hundred  years 
before,  had  declared,  heathen  though  he  was,  and 
uninterested  in  the  event,  that  "  a  Star  should 
come  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  Sceptre  should  rise  out  of 
Israel,  .  .  .  that  out  of  Jacob  should  come  He  that 
should  have  dominion  ^"  Now,  whether  this  last 
prophecy  be  faithfully  recorded  by  Moses  or  not,  so 

'  Vid.  Horsley's  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies  among  the 
Heathen. 

*  Numb.  xxiv.  17.  19. 


XXI.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  275 

far  is  clear,  and  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  the 
Jewish  traditions  concerning  the  expected  Empire 
profess  to  take  their  rise  in  heathen  sources  K  It  is 
a  clear  coincidence  with  the  fact,  already  adverted 
to,  of  the  prevalence  of  such  predictions  among  the 
heathen  at  the  time  of  Christ's  coming. 

While  such  was  the  testimony  of  enemies  and 
strangers  to  this  destined  rise  of  a  prosperous  Em- 
pire from  Judaea,  much  more  full  and  varied  are 
the  predictions  of  it  delivered  by  the  natives  of  that 
country  themselves.  These,  as  contained  in  our 
holy  books,  have  been  again  and  again  illustrated 
by  Christian  writers,  and  neither  need  nor  admit  of 
enumeration  here.  I  will  but  cite  one  or  two  pas- 
sages by  way  of  reminding  you  of  them.  "  Ask  of 
Me,  and  I  shall  give  Thee  the  heathen  for  Thine 
inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  Thy  possession.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron ;  thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a 
potter's  vessel."  "  Gird  Thy  sword  upon  Thy  thigh, 
O  most  Mighty,  with  Thy  glory  and  Thy  majesty. 
And  in  Thy  majesty  ride  prosperously,  because  of 
truth,  and  meekness,  and  righteousness ;  and  Thy 
right  hand  shall  teach  Thee  terrible  things.  Thine 
arrows  are  sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  King's  enemies, 
whereby  the  people  fall  under  Thee  .  .  .  Instead  of 

'  Gen.  xlix.  10,  does  not  speak  of  conquest  or  empire,  so 
clearly  as  to  constitute  an  exception  ;  much  less  Gen.  xii.  2,  3. 
and  xxviii.  14,  which  could  scarcely  be   so  interpreted,  except 
after  other  and  clearer  prophecies. 
.      t2 


276  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Sbrm. 

Thy  fathers  shall  be  Thy  children,  whom  Thou 
mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth."  "  The  Lord 
shall  send  the  rod  of  Thy  strength  out  of  Zion; 
rule  Thou  in  the  midst  of  Thine  enemies  .  .  .  The 
Lord  at  thy  right  hand  shall  strike  through  kings 
in  the  day  of  His  wTath."  "  It  shall  come  to  pass 
in  the  last  days,  that  the  Mountain  of  the  Lord's 
House  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills  ;  and  all 
nations  shall  flow  unto  it ;  .  .  .  Out  of  Zion  shall 
go  forth  the  Law,  and  the  Word  of  the  Lord  from 
Jerusalem.  And  He  shall  judge  among  the  nations, 
and  shall  rebuke  many  people ;  and  they  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  plowshares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning  hooks ;  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword 
against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any 
more."  "  It  is  a  light  thing  that  Thou  shouldest 
be  My  servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and 
to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel.  I  will  also  give 
Thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  Thou  shouldest 
be  My  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth."  And 
almost  in  the  same  words,  the  aged  Simeon  recog- 
nises in  the  infant  Jesus,  the  Lord's  promised  "  sal- 
vation, a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory 
of  His  people  Israel  \"  In  these  passages  the  pre- 
dictions of  bloody  revolution  and  of  peace,  are  as 
strangely  combined,  as  in  our  Lord's  account  of  His 
Kingdom,  as  being  at  once  a  refuge  and  consolation, 

^  Ps.  ii.  8,  9.  xlv.  3—5.  16.  ex.  2.  5.  Is.  ii.  2—4.  xlix.  6. 
Luke  ii.  30—32. 


XXL]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  277 

and  a  sword.  Maintain,  if  you  will,  that  they  have 
not  hitherto  been  so  fully  accomplished  in  its  history 
as  is  conceivable  ;  yet,  in  matter  of  fact,  has  not  this 
twofold  character  of  the  Dispensation  been  in  such 
measure  realized,  as  substantially  answers  to  the 
words  of  the  prediction  ?  Consider  only  the  wars 
and  tumults  of  the  middle  ages,  of  which  the  Church 
was  the  occasion,  and  at  the  same  time,  its  salutary 
influence  upon  the  fierce  and  lawless  soldiers  who 
then  filled  the  thrones  of  Europe.  Take  the  Pro- 
phecy, take  the  History ;  and  say  fairly,  whether,  in 
accordance  with  the  Scripture  prospect,  we  do  not 
actually  find  in  the  centuries  I  speak  of,  a  political 
power,  making  vassals  of  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
humbling  them  beneath  its  feet,  affording  matter  of 
endless  strife,  yet  acting  as  the  very  bond  of  peace, 
as  far  as  peace  was  really  attained.  How  truly  have 
"  the  sons  of  them  that  afflicted"  the  Church,  "  come 
bending  unto  her;  and  they  that  despised  her, 
bowed  themselves  at  the  soles  of  her  feet  V  and 
"  the  enemies  of  Christ  been  made  His  footstool !" 

It  may  help  us  in  entering  into  the  state  of  the 
case,  to  consider  what  our  surprise  would  be,  did  we 
in  the  course  of  our  researches  into  history,  find  any 
resemblance  to  this  prophetic  forecast  in  the  annals 
of  other  kingdoms.  Even  one  poor  coincidence  in 
the  history  of  Rome,  viz.  of  the  anticipated  and  the 
actual  duration  of  its  greatness,  does  not  fail  to 

1   Is.  Ix.  14. 


278  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Serm. 

arrest  our  attention.  We  know  that  even  before  the 
Christian  era,  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  Roman 
Augurs,  that  the  twelve  vultures  which  Romulus 
had  seen  previous  to  the  foundation  of  the  city,  re- 
presented the  twelve  centuries,  assigned  as  the  limit 
of  its  power ;  an  anticipation  which  was  singularly 
fulfilled  by  the  event '.  Yet  what  is  this  solitary 
fact  to  the  series  of  varied  and  circumstantial  pro- 
phecies which  ushered  in,  and  were  fulfilled  in 
Christianity  ?  Extend  the  twelve  centuries  of  Ro- 
man dominion  to  an  additional  half  of  that  period, 
preserve  its  monarchical  form  inviolate,  whether 
from  aristocratic  or  popular  innovation  from  first  to 
last,  and  trace  back  the  predictions  concerning  it, 
through  an  antecedent  period,  nearly  of  the  same 
duration,  and  then  you  will  have  assimilated  its 
history — not  altogether,  but  in  one  or  two  of  its 
features,  to  the  characteristics  of  the  Gospel  Dispen- 
sation. As  it  is,  this  Roman  wonder  only  serves 
to  assist  the  imagination  in  embracing  the  marvel- 
lousness  of  those  systematic  prophecies  concerning 
Christ's  kingdom,  which,  from  their  number,  variety, 
succession,  and  contemporary  influence,  may  almost 

'  Vid.  Gibbon,  ch.  xxxv.  fin.  The  ancient  prediction  con- 
cerning the  fortunes  of  Russia  is  a  more  remarkable  instance. 
A  brazen  equestrian  statue,  which  had  been  originally  in  An- 
tioch,  is  said  by  historians  of  the  beginning  of  the  12th  century 
to  be  *'  inscribed  with  a  prophecy,  how  the  Russians  in  the  last 
days  should  become  masters  of  Constantinople."  Vid.  Gibbon, 
ch.  Iv. 


XXL]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  279 

be  accounted  in  themselves,  and  without  reference 
to  their  fulfilment,  a  complete  and  independent 
dispensation. 

4.  Lastly,  the  course  of  Providence  co-operated 
with  this  scheme  of  prophecy;  God's  word  and  hand 
went  too-ether.     The  state  of  the  Jews  for  the  last 

o 

four  hundred  years  before  Christ  was  a  preparation 
deliberately  carried  on  for  that  which  was  to  follow; 
just  as  the  wanderings  of  Abraham  and  his  heirs, 
the  descent  into  Egypt,  and  the  captivity  there,  for 
the  same  period,  constituted  a  process  introductory 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Jewish  Church.  Con- 
sider the  nature  of  this  preparation  :  the  overthrow 
of  the  nation  by  the  Chaldeans,  issued  in  the  dis- 
persion of  its  members  all  over  the  civilized  world, 
so  that  in  all  the  principal  cities  Jewish  communi- 
ties existed,  which  gradually  attracted  to  their  faith 
Gentile  converts,  and  were  in  one  way  or  other  the 
nucleus  of  the  Christian  Church,  when  the  Gospel 
was  at  length  published.  Now,  here,  I  would  first 
direct  your  attention  to  this  strange  connexion, 
which  is  visible  at  first  sight  between  the  dispersion 
,.  of  the  Jews  and  the  propagation  of  Christianity. 
Does  not  such  a  manifest  appearance  of  cause  and 
effect  look  very  much  like  an  indication  of  design  ? 
Next,  I  remark  that  this  dispersion  was  later  than 
the  predictions  concerning  the  Christian  Church 
contained  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures ;  which  in  con- 
sequence cannot  be  charged  with  borrowing  the 
idea  of  it   from  any  actual  disposition  of  things. 


280  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Seem. 

And  further,  let  it  be  observed  that  the  disposition 
arose  from  the  apparent  frustration  of  all  their 
hopes ;  a  signal  instance,  as  it  would  seem,  of  an 
overruling  Providence,  which  would  not  be  defeated 
as  regards  its  object,  in  spite  of  the  failure  of  those 
instruments,  in  which  alone  a  human  eye  could  see 
the  means  of  accomplishing  it. 

Before  concluding,  I  must  explain  myself  on  one 
point  which  has  been  incidentally  mentioned  more 
than  once  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  viz.  as  to  the 
connection  between  the  temporal  fortunes  of  the 
Church,  in  the  middle  ages,  and  the  inspired  pre- 
dictions concerning  it.  It  may  seem,  before  due 
attention  has  been  given  to  the  subject,  as  if  no 
one  but  a  member  of  the  Roman  Communion  could 
regard  them  as  parts  of  the  Divine  Dispensation; 
I  therefore  observe  as  follows : — 

There  is  a  considerable  analogy  between  the 
history  of  (what  is  called)  the  Papacy  and  that  of 
the  Israelitish  monarchy.  That  monarchy  was  per- 
versely demanded,  and  presumptuously  realized  by 
the  nation,  when  God  had  not  led  the  way  ;  it  ter- 
minated in  the  dissolution  of  the  federal  union  of 
the  Tribes,  the  corruption  of  the  people,  and  the 
ruin  of  their  temporal  power.  Nevertheless,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  that  in  one  sense  that  kingdom 
was  the  scope  of  the  Mosaic  Institutions  \  and  a 
fulfilment  of  prophecy.     Its  kings  were  many  of 

'  Deut.  xvii.  14 — 20. 


XXL]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  281 

them  highly  favoured  in  themselves,  and  types 
of  the  promised  Saviour ;  and  their  government 
and  subjects  were  singularly  blessed.  Consider 
the  circumstances  attendant  upon  the  building  of 
the  Temple.  This  may  be  accounted  as  the  most 
glorious  event  in  their  history,  the  fruit  of  Moses' 
anxieties  and  David's  labours,  the  completion  and 
resting-place  of  the  whole  Dispensation,  and  the 
pledge  of  the  more  spiritual  blessedness  which  was 
to  come.  Connect  it  with  Solomon's  reign,  its 
peace  and  prosperity, — on  the  other  hand  with  its 
voluptuousness,  its  departure  from  the  simplicity 
of  the  Mosaic  Law, — with  Solomon's  personal  cha- 
racter, degenerating  from  faith  and  purity  into  sins 
which  we  are  not  given  to  fathom.  Are  we  able 
rightly  to  adjust  the  relation  between  the  blessings 
destined  for  Israel,  and  the  actual  prosperity  and 
greatness  of  this  kingdom  set  up  in  rebellion  against 
God,  so  as  to  be  able  to  say  how  far  it  was  recog- 
nised in  His  counsels,  how  far  not  ?  Can  we  draw 
the  line  between  God's  work  and  man's  work? 

I  am  not  maintaining  that  the  case  of  the  Papacy 
is  parallel  to  that  of  the  Jewish  Monarchy ;  nay,  I 
do  not  introduce  the  latter  for  the  sake  of  the 
analogy  at  all,  be  it  stronger  or  fainter ;  but  merely 
in  order  to  show  that  it  is  possible  for  certain  events 
to  be  in  some  sort  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  without 
considering  every  part  of  them,  the  manner  of  their 
accomplishment,  the  circumstances,  the  instruments, 
and  the  like,  to  be  approved  by  God.      The  Latin 


2S2  WHIT-TUESDAY.  [Seem. 

ecclesiastical  system  of  the  middle  ages  may  be, 
for  what  we  know,  the  shadow,  dark  indeed  and 
shapeless,  still  the  shadow  of  that  gracious  design, 
which  would  have  been  accomplished,  had  Christ- 
ians possessed  faith  enough  to  keep  closely  to  God's 
revealed  will.  For  what  we  know,  it  was  intended 
that  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  should  have  been 
made  subject  to  the  spiritual  rule  of  the  Church. 
The  presumption  of  man  defeated  this  purpose ;  but 
it  could  not  so  far  defeat  it,  but  some  sort  of  fulfil- 
ment took  place.  The  mustard-plant,  stopped  in  its 
natural  growth,  shot  out  irregular  branches.  Satan 
could  not  hinder,  he  could  but  corrupt  the  kingdom 
promised  to  the  Saints.  He  could  but  seduce  them 
to  trust  in  an  arm  of  flesh.  He  could  but  sow  the 
seeds  of  decay  among  them  by  alluring  them  to 
bow  down  to  "  Ashtoreth  the  goddess  of  the  Zido- 
nians,  and  Milcom  the  abomination  of  the  Ammo- 
nites ;"  to  take  a  king  over  them  like  the  nations, 
"  when  the  Lord  was  their  king."  Had  it  not  been 
for  this  falling  away  in  divers  times  and  places, 
surely  Christendom  would  not  be  in  its  present 
miserable  state  of  disunion  and  weakness ;  nor  the 
prophecies  respecting  it  have  issued  in  any  degree 
in  defeat  and  disappointment.  Still,  dim  and  par- 
tial as  is  their  fulfilment,  there  is  more  than  enough, 
even  in  what  is  and  has  been,  to  attest  in  the  Church 
the  presence  of  that  Almighty  Hand,  whose  very 
failures  (so  to  say)  and  losses  are  deeds  of  victory 
and  triumph. 


XXI.]  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  SAINTS.  283 

As  for  ourselves,  what  was  the  exact  measure  of 
the  offences  of  our  forefathers  in  the  faith,  when 
they  tired  of  the  Christian  Theocracy,  and  clothed 
the  church  with  "  the  purple  robe"  of  Caesar,  it 
avails  not  to  determine.  Not  denying  their  sin, 
still,  after  contemplating  the  glories  of  the  Temple 
which  they  built,  we  may  well  bewail  our  present 
fallen  state, — the  Priests  and  Levites,  and  chief  of 
the  Fathers,  all  of  us  "  weeping  with  a  loud  voice," 
though  the  many  shout  for  joy, — "  praising"  indeed, 
and  "  giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  because  He  is 
good,  for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever  toward 
Israel  S"  not  undervaluing  the  blessings  we  have, 
yet  humbling  ourselves  as  the  sinful  offspring  of 
sinful  parents,  who  from  the  first  have  resisted  and 
frustrated  the  grace  of  God,  and  seeing  in  the  pre- 
sent feebleness  and  blindness  of  the  Church,  the 
tokens  of  His  righteous  judgments  upon  us;  yet 
withal,  from  His  continued  mercies  towards  us, 
drawing  the  comfortable  hope,  that  for  His  Son's 
sake  He  will  not  forsake  us  in  time  to  come,  and 
cherishing  a  sure  trust,  that,  if  we  "  give  Him  no 
rest"  by  our  services  of  prayer  and  good  works.  He 
will  at  length,  even  yet,  though  doubtless  in  a  way 
which  we  cannot  understand,  "  establish  and  make  . 
Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth."  /7/^ ,,  *  |    2.^/^  7 

'  Ezra  Hi.  11,  12. 


SERMON    XXII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY. 
THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US. 


1  Tim.  vi.  20,  21. 

O  Timothy,  keep  that  which  is  committed  to  Thy  trust,  avoid- 
ing profane  and  vain  babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science, 
falsely  so  called ;  which  some  professing,  have  erred  con- 
cerning the  Faith. 

These  words  are  addressed  in  the  first  place  to  the 
Ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  person  of  Timothy ; 
yet  they  contain  a  serious  command  and  warning 
for  all  Christians.  For  all  of  us,  high  and  low,  in  our 
measure  are  responsible  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the 
Faith.  We  have  all  an  equal  interest  in  it,  no  one 
less  than  another,  though  an  Order  of  men  has 
been  especially  set  apart  for  the  duty  of  guarding  it. 
If  we  Ministers  of  Christ  guard  it  not,  it  is  oui'  sin, 
but  it  is  ^our  loss,  my  brethren ;  and  as  any  private 
person  would  feel  that  his  duty  and  his  safety  lay 
in  giving  alarm  of  a  fire  or  of  a  robbery  in  the  city 
where  he  dwelt,  though  there  were  ever  so  many 
special  officers  appointed  for  the  purpose,  so  doubt- 


THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.     285 

less,  every  one  of  us  is  bound  in  his  place  to  contend 
for  the  Faith,  and  to  have  an  eye  to  its  safe  cus- 
tody.    If  indeed  the  Faith  of  Christ  were  vague, 
indeterminate,  a   matter  of  opinion  or  deduction, 
then,  indeed,  we  may  well  conceive  that  the  Minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  would  be  the  only  due  expounders 
and  guardians  of  it;  then  it  might  be  fitting  for 
private  Christians  to  wait  till  they  were  informed 
concerning  the  best  mode  of  expressing  it,  or  the 
relative  importance  of  this  or  that  part  of  it.     But 
this  has   been  all   settled   long  ago;    the  Gospel 
Faith  is  a  definite  deposit, — a  treasure,  common  to 
all,  one  and  the  same  in  every  age,  conceived  in  set 
words,  and  such  as  admits  of  being  received,  pre- 
served, transmitted.     We  may  safely  leave  the  cus- 
tody of  it  even  in  the  hands  of  individuals  ;  for  in  so 
doing,  we  are  leaving   nothing   at  all  to   private 
rashness  and   fancy,  to  pride,   debate,   and   strife. 
We  are  but  allowing  men  to  "  contend  earnestly 
for  the  Faith  once  delivered  to  the  Saints;"  the 
Faith  which  was  put  into  their  hands  one  by  one  at 
their  baptism,  in  a  form  of  words  called  the  Creed, 
and  which  has  come  down  to  them  in  that  very 
same  form  from  the  first  ages.     This  Faith  is  what 
even  the  humblest  member  of  the  Church  may  and 
must  contend  for ;  and  in  proportion  to  his  educa- 
tion, will  the  circle  of  his  knowledge  enlarge.     The 
Creed  delivered  to  him  in  Baptism  will  then  unfold, 
first,  into  the  Nicene  Creed  (as  it  is  called,)  then 
into  the  Athanasian ;  and,  according  as  his  power 


28G  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

of  grasping  the  sense  of  its  articles  increases,  so 
will  it  become  his  duty  to  contend  for  them  in  their 
fuller  and  more  accurate  form.  All  these  unfold- 
ings  of  the  Gospel  Doctrine  will  become  to  him 
precious  as  the  original  articles,  because  they  are 
in  fact  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  one  true  ex- 
planation of  them,  delivered  down  to  us  from  the 
first  ages,  together  with  the  original  Baptismal  or 
Apostles'  Creed  itself.  As  all  nations  confess  to 
the  existence  of  a  God,  so  all  branches  of  the 
Church  confess  to  the  Gospel  doctrine ;  as  the 
tradition  of  men  witnesses  to  a  Moral  Governor 
and  Judge,  so  the  tradition  of  Saints  witnesses  to 
the  Father  Almighty,  and  His  only  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.  And  as  neither  the  superstitions  of 
polytheism,  nor  the  atheistic  extravagances  of  par- 
ticular countries  at  particular  times,  practically 
interfere  with  our  reception  of  the  one  message 
which  the  sons  of  Adam  deliver ;  so,  much  less,  do 
the  local  heresies  and  temporary  errors  of  the  early 
Church,  and  its  superadded  corruptions,  its  schis- 
matic offshoots,  or  its  partial  defections  in  later 
ages,  impair  the  evidence  and  the  claim  of  its 
teaching,  in  the  judgment  of  those  who  sincerely 
wish  to  know  the  Truth  once  delivered  to  it. 
Blessed  be  God !  we  have  not  to  find  the  Truth,  it 
is  put  into  our  hands ;  we  have  but  to  commit  it 
to  our  hearts,  to  preserve  it  inviolate,  and  to  deliver 
it  over  to  our  posterity. 

This  then  is  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  injunction 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    287 

in  the  text,  given  at  the  time  when  the  Truth  was 
first  published.  "Keep  that  which  is  committed 
to  thy  trust,"  or  rather,  "  keep  the  Deposit ;"  turn 
away  from  those  "  profane  emptinesses"  which  pre- 
tenders to  philosophy  and  science  bring  forward 
against  it.  Do  not  be  moved  by  them ;  do  not 
alter  your  Creed  for  them ;  for  the  end  of  such 
men  is  error.  They  go  on  disputing  and  refining, 
giving  new  meanings,  modifying  received  ones,  still 
with  the  idea  of  the  True  Faith  in  their  minds  as 
the  scope  of  their  inquiries;  but  at  length  they 
"  miss"  it.  They  shoot  on  one  side  of  it,  and  em- 
brace a  deceit  of  their  own  instead  of  it. 

By  the  Faith  is  evidently  meant,  as  St.  Paul's 
words  show,  some  definite  doctrine ;  not  a  mere 
temper  of  mind  or  principle  of  action,  much  less, 
vaguely,  the  Christian  cause;  and  accordingly, 
in  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy,  the  Apostle  men- 
tions as  his  comfort  in  the  view  of  death,  that  he 
had  "  kept  the  Faith."  >■  In  the  same  Epistle  he 
describes  it  more  particularly  as  "  the  Form"  or 
outline  "  of  sound  words,'"  "  the  excellent  Deposit ;" 
phrases,  which  show  that  the  Deposit  certainly  was 
a  series  of  truths  and  rules  of  some  sort,  (whether 
only  doctrinal,  or  preceptive  also,  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal,) and  which,  are  accurately  descriptive  of  the 
formulary  since  called  the  Apostles'  Creeds  And 
these  same  sacred  truths  which  Timothy  had  re- 

'  Vid.  also,  among  other  passages,  1  John  ii.  21 — 27,  which 
refers  to  nothing  short  of  a  definite  doctrine ;  e.  g.   "  Let  that 
1 


288  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

ceived  in  trust,  he  was  bid  "  commit"  in  turn  "  to 
faithful  men,"  who  should  be  "  able  to  teach  others 
also."  By  God's  grace,  he  was  enabled  so  to  com- 
mit them;  and  they  being  thus  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation,  have  through  God's  con- 
tinued mercy,  reached  even  unto  us,  "  upon  whom 
the  ends  of  the  world  are  come." 
'  I  propose,  in  what  follows,  to  set  before  you,  the 
account  given  us  in  Scripture  of  this  Apostolic 
Faith ;  being  led  to  do  so  on  the  one  hand  by  the 
Day,  on  which  we  commemorate  its  fundamental 
doctrine,  and  on  the  other,  by  the  mistaken  views 
entertained  of  it  by  many  persons  in  this  day, 
which  seem  to  require  notice. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  right  first  to  state  what  these 
erroneous  opinions  are;  which  I  will  do  briefly. 
They  are  not  novel,  as  scarcely  any  religious  error 
can  be,  and  assuredly  what  has  once  or  twice  died 
away  in  former  times,  will  come  to  its  end  in  like 
manner  once  more.  I  do  not  speak,  as  if  I  feared 
it  could  overcome  the  Ancient  Truth  once  delivered 
to  the  Saints ;  but  still,  our  watchfulness  and  care 
are  the  means  appointed  for  its  overthrow,  and 
are  not  superseded  but  rather  encouraged  and 
roused  by  the  anticipation  of  ultimate  success. 

It  is  a  fashion  of  the  day,  then,  to  suppose  that 

therefore  abide  in  you,  which  ye  have  Aeard  from  the  beginning." 
Again,  2  Tim.  ii.  18,  "  Who  concerning  the  Truth  have  erred, 
saying  that  the  Resurrection  is  past  already,  and  overthrow  the 
faith  of  some." 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    289 

all  insisting  upon  precise  Articles  of  Faith,  is  inju- 
rious to  the  cause  of  spiritual  religion,  and  incon- 
sistent with  an  enlightened  view  of  it ;  that  it  is 
all  one  to  maintain,  that  the  Gospel  requires  the 
reception  of  definite  and  positive  Articles,  and  to 
acknowledge  it  to  be  technical  and  formal ;  that 
such  a  notion  is  superstitious,  and  interferes  with 
the  "  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free ;" 
that  it  argues  a  deficient  insight  into  the  principles 
and  ends,  a  narrow  comprehension  of  the  spirit  of 
His  revelation.  Accordingly,  instead  of  accepting 
reverently  the  doctrinal  Truths  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  an  attempt  is  made  by  the  reasoners 
of  this  age  to  compare  them  together,  to  weigh 
and  measure  them,  to  analyze,  simplify,  refashion 
them ;  to  reduce  them  to  system,  to  arrange  them 
into  primary  and  secondary,  to  harmonize  them 
into  an  intelligible  dependence  upon  each  other. 
The  teacher  of  Christianity,  instead  of  delivering  its 
Mysteries,  and,  (as  far  as  may  be)  unfolding  them, 
is  taught  to  scrutinize  them,  with  a  view  of  sepa- 
rating the  inward  holy  sense  from  the  form  of 
words,  in  which  the  Spirit  has  indissolubly  lodged 
them.  He  asks  himself,  what  is  the  iise  of  the 
message  which  has  come  down  to  him ;  what  the 
comparative  value  of  this  or  that  part  of  it.  He 
proceeds  to  assume  that  there  is  some  one  end  of 
his  ministerial  labours,  such  as  to  be  ascertainable 
by  him,  some  one  revealed  object  of  God's  dealings 
with  man  in  the  Gospel.     Then,  perhaps  he  arbi- 

VOL.  II.  u 


290  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

trarily  assigns  this  to  be  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
or  the  conversion  of  sinners.  Next  he  measures 
all  the  Scripture  doctrines  by  their  respective 
sensible  tendency  to  effect  this  end.  He  goes  on 
to  discard  or  degrade  this  or  that  sacred  truth  as 
superfluous  in  consequence,  or  of  inferior  import- 
ance ;  and  throws  the  stress  of  his  teaching  upon 
one  or  other,  which  he  pronounces  to  contain 
in  it  the  essence  of  the  Gospel,  and  on  which  he 
rests  all  others  which  he  retains.  Lastly,  he  re- 
constructs the  language  of  theology  to  suit  his 
(so-called)  improved  views  of  Scripture  doctrine. 

For  instance,  you  will  meet  with  writers  who 
consider  that  all  the  Attributes  and  Providences  of 
God  are  virtually  expressed  in  the  one  proposition 
"  God  is  Love ;"  the  other  notices  of  His  Unap- 
proachable Glory  contained  in  Scripture  being  but 
modifications  of  this.  In  consequence  they  are  led 
on  to  deny,  first,  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punish- 
ment, as  being  inconsistent  with  this  notion  of 
Infinite  Love;  next,  resolving  such  expressions 
as  the  "  wrath  of  God"  into  a  figure  of  speech,  they 
deny  the  Atonement,  viewed  as  a  real  reconciliation 
of  an  offended  God  to  His  creatures.  Or,  again, 
they  say  that  the  object  of  the  Gospel  Revelation  is 
merely  practical,  and  therefore,  that  theological 
doctrines  are  altogether  unnecessary,  mere  specula- 
.  tions,  and  hindrances  to  the  extension  of  religion ; 
or,  if  not  purely  injurious,  at  least  requiring  modi- 
fication.    Hence,  you  may  hear  them  ask,  "  what  is 


XXII]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.     291 

the  harm  of  being  a  Sabellian,  or  Arian  ?  how  does 
it  affect  the  moral  character  ?"  Or,  again,  they  say 
that  the  great  end  of  the  Gospel,  is  the  union  of 
hearts  in  the  love  of  Christ  and  each  other,  and 
that  in  consequence,  Creeds  are  but  fetters  on  souls 
which  have  received  the  Spirit  of  Adoption ;  that 
Faith  is  a  mere  temper  and  a  principle,  not  the  ac- 
ceptance for  Christ's  sake  of  a  certain  collection  of 
Articles.  Others,  again,  have  rested  the  whole 
Gospel  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  Atonement,  and 
Sanctification.  And  others,  have  seemed  to  make 
the  doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith  the  one 
cardinal  point,  upon  which  the  gates  of  life  open 
and  shut.  Let  so  much  suffice  in  explanation  of 
the  drift  of  the  following  remarks. 

St.  Paul,  I  repeat,  bids  us  hold  fast  the  Faith 
which  is  entrusted  to  our  custody ;  and  that  Faith  is 
a  "  Form  of  sound  words,"  an  "  Outline,"  which  it 
is  our  duty,  according  to  our  opportunities,  to  fill 
up  and  complete  in  all  its  parts.  Now,  let  us  see 
how  much  the  very  text  of  Scripture  will  yield  us 
of  these  elementary  lines  of  Truth,  of  the  un- 
changeable Apostolic  Rule  of  Faith,  of  which  we 
are  bound  to  be  so  jealous. 

Its  essential  doctrine  of  course  is  what  St.  John 
terms    generally    "  the  doctrine   of   Christ,"    and 
which,   in  the  case  of  every  one  calling  himself 
Christian,  is  the  profession  necessary,  (as  he  tells . 
us,)  for  our  receiving   him  into  our  houses.     St. 

u  2 


292  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Srrm. 

Paul  speaks  in  much  the  same  compendious  way 
concerning  the  Gospel  Faith,  when  he  says,  "  Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which 
is  Jesus,  the  Christ."  However,  in  an  earlier  passage 
of  the  same  Epistle,  he  speaks  more  explicitly ;  "  I 
L^  ^S^  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you,  save 
iTvA^*-  jggyg  Christ,  and  Him  crucified."  Thus  the  cru- 
cifixion  of  Christ  was  one  essential  part  of  the  out- 
line of  sound  words  preached  and  delivered  by  the 
Apostle.  In  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  he  adds 
another  article  of  faith ;  "  If  thou  shalt  confess 
with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe 
in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  Him  from  the 
I  t'^.  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Here  then  the  doctrine 
^  r  «^**'  of  the  Resurrection  is  added  to  that  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion. Elsewhere  he  says;  "There  is  One  God, 
and  One  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the 
Man  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom 
z-;^  for  all  to  be  testified  in  due  time  ;  even  whereunto 
I  am  ordained  a  preacher."  Here  Christ's  Media- 
tion and  Atonement  are  added  as  doctrines  of 
Apostolical  preaching.  Further,  towards  the  end 
of  an  Epistle  already  quoted,  he  speaks  still  more 
distinctly  of  the  Gospel  which  he  had  preached, 
and  had  delivered  over  to  his  converts ;  and  which 
he  adds  all  the  other  Apostles  preached  also.  "  I 
put  into  your  hands,  first  of  all,  what  had  before 
been  put  into  mine,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our 
sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  He  was 


!3^ 


XXII.  ]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    293 

buried,  and  that  He  rose  again  the  third  day  ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptures  \"  Here  we  even  find  an 
approximation  to  the  Articles  of  the  Creed,  as  the 
Church  has  ever  worded  them. 

But  the  letter  of  Scripture  gives  us  still  further 
insight  into  the  subjects  of  the  sacred  Deposit,  of 
which  St.  Paul  speaks  in  the  text.  In  the  course 
of  the  very  Epistle  in  which  it  occurs,  he  delivers 
to  Timothy  a  more  explicit  "  form  of  sound  words" 
than  any  I  have  cited  from  his  writings.  He  writes 
to  tell  him  "  how  to  conduct  himself  in  the  Church 
of  the  Living  God,"  which  he  had  to  govern,  and 
how  to  preserve  it  as  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  ^ 

Truth;"  and   proceeds  to  remind   him  what   that    ^:U    '    ^ 
Truth  is.     "  God  was  manifested  in  the  flesh,  justi-  ^  /^*^ 
fied  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  Angels,  preached  unto  the  '] 

Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into     i;  M  .    " 
glory."     Here  is  mention,  among  other  doctrines,  l$x^fy  f 
of  the  Incarnation  and  the  Ascension.     It  seems     '-> 
then  to  have  been  an  article  of  the  original  Apos- 
tles' Creed,  that  Christ  was  not  a  mere  man,  but 
God  incarnate.     In  like  manner,  when  the  Ethio- 
pian asked  to  be  baptized,  and  Philip  said  he  might 
if  he  "  believed  with  all  his  heart,"  this  was   his 
confession ;    "  I    believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Son  of  God."     This,  it  should  be  observed,  is  his  con- 
fession, qfler  Philip  had  "  preached  unto  him  Jesus  ^." 

'  2  John  9—11.  1  Cor.  iii.  11.  ii.  2.  Rom.  x.  9.  1  Tim. 
ii.  5—7.     1  Cor.  xv.  3.  4. 

*   1  Tim.  iii.  15,  IG.     Acts  viii.  35 — 37. 


294  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

Now,  let  us  pass  on  to  the  very  words  in  which 

that  Baptism  itself  was  administered  ;  words,  which 

the  Eunuch  might  not  understand  indeed  at  the 

time,  but  which  were  then  committed  to  him  to  feed 

upon  in  his  heart  by  faith,  and,  by  the  influence  of 

the  grace  at  the  same  time  given,  gradually  to  enter 

into.     Those  words  were  first  ordained  by  Christ 

Himself,  as  some   mysterious   key  by  which  the 

kk^'J^  fountains  of  grace  might  be  opened  upon  the  bap- 

^    ^      tismal  water, — "  In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and 

q  *^cr      of  the  Son,   and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;"   and  they 

(V^  show  that  not  only  the  doctrine  of    Christ,   but 

that  of  the  Trinity  also,  formed  an  essential  portion 

of  the  Sacred  Treasure,  of  which  the  Church  was 

ordained    to    be   the   Preacher.      Lastly,  in    the 

(■^  c^Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  we  are  presented  with  an 

11       enumeration    of  some   other  of  the   fundamental 

"^j^'^j^  Articles  of  Faith,   which  the  Apostles   delivered. 

'■*  /J^aA^^I    St.  Paul  therein  speaks  oi  ^^  the  foundation  of  Re- 

^ij^'^^A  pentance  from  dead  works,  and  of  Faith  towards 

4-4i  God,  of  the  doctrine  of  Baptisms,  and  of  Laying 

on  of  hands,  and  of  Resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 

of  Eternal  Judgment  \" 

Observe  then,  how  many  Articles  of  that  Faith, 
which  the  Church  has  ever  confessed,  are  inci- 
dentally brought  before  us  as  such,  and  delivered 
as  such  in  very  form,  in   the  course  of  Scripture 

'  Matt,  xxviii.  19.      Heb.  vi.  1,  2.      Vid.  also    2   Tim.   ii. 
16 — 18,  above  referred  to. 


>|*^; 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    295 

narrative  and  precept ; — the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ; 
of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  His  Media- 
torship,  His  Atonement  for  our  sins  on  the  Cross, 
His  Death,  Burial,  Resurrection  on  the  third  day, 
and  Ascension;  of  Pardon  on  Repentance,  Bap- 
tism as  the  instrument  of  it,  Imposition  of  hands, 
the  General  Resurrection,  and  the  Judgment  once  f  - 
for  all.  I  might  also  appeal  to  such  passages  as 
that  in  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  where 
St.  Paul  says,  "  To  us  there  is  One  God  the  Father, 
....  and  One  Lord  Jesus  Christ ' ;"  but  I  wished 
to  confine  myself  to  texts  in  which  the  doctrines 
specified  are  expressly  introduced  as  portions  of  a 
Formulary  or  Confession,  committed  or  accepted, 
whether  on  the  part  of  Ministers  of  the  Church 
at  Ordination,  or  of  each  member  of  it  when  he 
was  baptized. 

It  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  the  history  of  the 
Primitive  Church  altogether  concurs  in  this  view  of 
the  nature  of  Gospel  Faith,  which  Scripture  sets 
before  us.  I  mean,  we  have  sufficient  evidence 
that,  in  matter  of  fact,  such  Creeds  as  St.  Paul's 
did  exist  in  its  various  branches,  not  differing  from 
each  other,  except,  (for  instance,)  as  the  Lord's 
Prayer  in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  differs  from  St. 
Luke's  version  of  it ;  that  this  one  and  the  same 
Faith,  was  committed  to  every  Christian  every 
where  on  his  baptism :  and  that  it  was  considered  as 

'  1  Cor.  viii.  6. 


296  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Sbrm. 

the  especial  trust  of  the  Church  of  each  place  and 
of  its  Bishop,  as  having  been  received  by  continual 
transmission  from  its  original  Founder,  whether 
Apostle  or  Evangelist. 

Enough  has  been  already  said  by  way  of  proving 
from  Scripture,  how  precise,  positive,  manifold,  are 
the  Articles  of  our  Faith,  and  how  St.  Paul  insists 
on  this  their  definiteness  and  minuteness ;  enough 
to  show  that  we  may  not  slur  them  over,  nor  heap 
them  together  confusedly,  nor  tamper  with  them, 
with  the  profaneness  either  of  carelessness  or  of 
curious  disputing, — in  a  word,  that  they  are  sacred. 
But  this  sacred  character  of  our  trust  may  be  shown 
by  several  distinct  considerations,  which  shall  now 
be  set  before  you. 

1.  First,  from  the  very  circumstance  that  it  is  a 
trust.  The  plain  and  simple  reason  for  our  preach- 
ing and  preserving  the  Faith,  is  because  we  have 
been  told  to  do  so.  It  is  an  act  of  mere  obedience 
to  Him  who  has  "  put  us  in  trust  with  the  Gospel." 
Our  one  great  concern  as  regards  it,  is  to  deliver  it 
over  safe.  This  is  the  end  in  view,  which  all  men 
have  before  them,  who  are  any  how  trusted  in 
worldly  matters.  "  It  is  required  in  stewards,  that 
a  man  be  found  faithful  \"  Our  Lord  had  said, 
that  "  this  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  shall  be 
preached  in  all  the  world  as  a  witness  unto  all  na- 
tions."    Accordingly,  His  Apostle  declares,  speak- 

•  I  Cor.  iv.  2. 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  us.    297 

ing  of  his  persecutions,  "  None  of  these  things 
move  me,  ...  so  that  I  might  finish  .  .  .  the  Minis- 
try which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  fully 
to  witness  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."  And 
again,  when  his  departure  is  at  hand,  he  comforts 
himself  with  the  reflection,  that  he  has  "  kept  the 
Faith  \"  To  keep  the  Faith  in  the  world  till  the 
end,  may,  for  what  we  know,  be  a  sufficient  object 
of  our  preaching  and  confessing,  though  nothing 
more  come  of  it.  Hence  then  the  force  of  the  words 
addressed  to  Timothy ;  "  Hold  fast,"  "  keep ;" 
"  This  charge  I  commit  unto  thee ;"  "  continue 
thou  in  the  things  entrusted  thee ;"  "  put  the  bre- 
thren in  remembrance ;"  "  commit  thou  the  same 
to  faithful  men ;"  "  refuse  profane  and  old  wives' 
fables ;"  "  shun  profane  vain-talking ;"  "  avoid 
foolish  and  unlearned  questions."  Were  there  no 
other  reason  for  the  Articles  of  the  Creed  being 
held  sacred,  their  being  a  trust  would  be  sufficient. 
Till  we  feel  that  we  have  a  trust,  a  treasure  to  trans- 
mit, for  the  safety  of  which  we  are  answerable,  we 
have  missed  one  chief  peculiarity  in  our  actual 
position.  Yet  did  men  feel  this  adequately,  they 
would  have  little  heart  to  indulge  in  the  random 
speculations  which  at  present  are  so  familiar  to  their 
minds. 

2.  This  sense  of  the  seriousness  of  our  charge  is 
increased  by  considering,  that  after  all  we  do  not 

'  Matt.  xxiv.  14.     Acts  xx.  21.     2  Tim.  iv.  7. 


298  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Sekm. 

know,  and  cannot  form  a  notion,  what  is  the  real 
final  object  of  the  Gospel  Revelation.  Men  are 
accustomed  to  say,  that  it  is  the  salvation  of  the 
world,  which  it  certainly  is  not.  If,  instead  of  this, 
we  say  that  Christ  came  "  to  purify  unto  Himself  a 
peculiar  people,"  then  indeed,  we  speak  a  great 
Truth ;  but  this,  though  a  main  end  of  our  preach- 
ing, is  not  its  simple  and  ultimate  object.  Rather, 
as  far  as  we  afe  told  at  all,  that  object  is  the  glory 
of  God ;  but  we  cannot  understand  what  is  meant 
by  this,  or  how  the  Dispensation  of  the  Gospel  pro- 
motes it.  It  is  enough  for  us  that  we  must  act 
with  the  simple  thought  of  God  before  us,  make 
all  ends  subordinate  to  this,  and  leave  the  event 
to  Him.  We  know,  indeed,  to  our  great  comfort, 
that  we  cannot  preach  in  vain.  His  heavenly  word 
"  shall  not  return  unto  Him  void,  but  shall  prosper 
in  the  thing  whereto  He  sent  it."  Still  it  is  surely 
our  duty  to  preach,  "  whether  men  will  hear,  or 
whether  they  will  forbear."  We  must  preach,  as 
our  Lord  enjoins  in  a  text  already  quoted,  "  as  a 
witness."  Accordingly  He  Himself,  before  the  hea- 
then Pilate,  "  bore  witness  unto  the  Truth ;"  and 
St.  Paul  conjures  us  to  keep  our  sacred  charge  as 
in  the  presence  of  Him,  who  "  before  Pontius  Pilate 
witnessed  a  good  confession."  Doubtless,  His  glory 
is  set  forth  in  some  mysterious  way  in  the  rejection, 
as  well  as  in  the  reception  of  the  Gospel ;  and  we 
must  co-operate  with  Him.  We  must  co-operate  so 
far,  as  to  be  content  to  wound  as  well  as  to  heal,  to 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    299 

condemn  as  well  as  to  absolve.  We  must  not  shrink 
from  being  "  a  savour  of  death  unto  death,"  as  well 
as  "  of  life  unto  life."  We  must  stedfastly  believe, 
however  painful  may  be  the  duty,  that  we  are  in 
either  case  offering  up  a  "  sweet  savour  of  Christ 
unto  God,  both  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in 
them  that  perish."  We  must  learn  to  acquiesce 
and  concur  in  the  order  of  God's  Providence,  and 
bear  to  rejoice  over  great  Babylon  and  her  inhabit- 
ants, when  the  wrath  of  God  has  fallen  upon  her. 

This  consideration  is  an  answer  to  those  who 
would  limit  our  message  to  what  is  influential  and 
convincing  in  it,  and  measure  its  divinity  by  its 
success.  But  I  have  introduced  it  rather  to  show 
generally,  how  utterly  we  are  in  the  dark  about  the 
whole  subject ;  and  therefore,  as  being  in  the  dark, 
how  necessary  it  is  to  gird  our  garments  about  us, 
and  hold  fast  our  treasure,  and  hasten  forward,  lest 
we  betray  our  trust.  We  have  no  means  of  know- 
ing how  far  a  small  mistake  in  the  Faith  may  carry 
us  astray.  If  we  do  not  know,  why  it  is  to  be  pro- 
claimed to  all,  though  all  will  not  hear,  much  less 
do  we  know  why  this  or  that  doctrine  is  revealed, 
or  what  is  the  importance  of  it.  The  grant  of  grace 
in  Baptism  follows  upon  the  accurate  enunciation 
of  one  or  two  words ;  and  if  so  much  depends  on 
one  sacred  observance,  even  down  to  the  letter  in 
which  it  is  committed  to  us,  why  should  not  at  least 
the  substantial  sense  of  other  truths,  nay,  even  the 
primitive  wording  of  them,  have  some  especial  claim 


300  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

upon  the  Church's  safe  guardianship  of  them  ?  St. 
Paul's  articles  of  belief  are  precise  and  individual ; 
why  should  we  not  take  them  as  we  find  them  ? 
Why  should  we  be  wise  above  that  is  written? 
Why  should  we  not  be  thankful  that  a  work  is  put 
upon  us  which  is  so  plainly  within  our  power,  to 
hold  the  Gospel  Truths,  to  count  and  note  them, 
to  feed  upon  them,  to  hand  them  on?  However 
wilful  and  feverish  minds  have  not  the  wisdom  to 
trust  divine  teaching.  They  persist  in  saying  that 
Articles  of  belief  are  mere  formalities ;  and  that  to 
preach  and  transmit  them  is  to  miss  the  conversion 
of  the  heart  in  faith  and  holiness.  They  would 
rather  rouse  emotions,  with  the  view  (as  they  hope) 
of  changing  the  character.  Forgetful  that  tempers 
and  states  of  mind  are  things  seen  by  God  alone, 
and  when  really  spiritual,  the  work  of  His  Unseen 
Spirit,  and  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  ensure  or 
ascertain,  they  put  upon  themselves  what  man 
cannot  do.  They  think  it  a  light  thing  to  be  sowers 
of  that  heavenly  seed,  which  He  shall  make  spring- 
up  in  the  hearer's  heart  to  life  eternal.  They  are 
willing  to  throw  it  aside  as  something  barren  and 
worthless,  as  the  sand  of  the  sea  shore ;  and  they 
desire  to  plant  the  flowers  of  grace,  (or  what  appear 
such,)  in  one  another's  hearts,  as  though  under 
their  assiduous  culture  they  could  take  root  therein. 
Far  different  is  the  example  set  us  in  the  services  of 
the  Church  !  In  the  Office  for  Baptism  the  Articles 
of  the  Creed  are  recited  one  by  one,  that  the  infant 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    301 

Christian  may  be  put  in  charge  of  every  jot  and 
tittle  of  the  sacred  Covenant,  which  he  inherits.  In 
the  Communion  Service,  in  the  midst  of  its  solemn 
praises  to  the  God  of  all  grace,  when  Angels  and 
Archangels  are  to  be  summoned  to  join  in  the 
Thanksgiving,  Articles  from  the  Creed  are  recited, 
as  if  by  way  of  preparation,  with  an  exact  doctrinal 
precision,  according  to  the  Festival  celebrated, — as 
for  instance  on  this  day.  And  in  the  Visitation  of 
the  Sick,  he  whom  God  seems  about  to  call  away, 
is  asked,  not  whether  he  has  certain  spiritual  feel- 
ings within  him,  (of  which  he  cannot  judge,)  but 
definitely  and  to  his  great  comfort,  whether  he  be- 
lieves those  Articles  of  the  Christian  Faith  one  by 
one,  which  he  received  at  Baptism,  was  catechized 
in  during  his  childhood,  and  confessed  whenever  he 
came  to  worship  God  in  Church.  It  is  in  the  same  ** 
spirit  that  the  most  precise  and  systematic  of  all  the 
Creeds,  the  Athanasian,  is  rather,  as  the  form  of  it 
shows,  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Eternal  Trinity ;  it 
being  meet  and  right  at  festive  seasons  to  bring  ( 
forth  before  our  God  every  jewel  of  the  Mysteries  1 
entrusted  us,  to  show  that  of  those  which  He  gave  j 
us  we  have  lost  none. 

3.  Lastly,  the  sacred  character  of  our  charge  is 
shown  most  forcibly  by  the  sanction  which  attends 
it.  What  God  has  guarded  by  an  Anathema,  surely 
claims  some  jealous  custody  on  our  part.  Christ 
says  expressly,  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved ;  and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be 


302  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Serm. 

damned  ^"  It  is  quite  clear,  that  in  our  Lord's 
meaning,  this  belief  included  the  reception  of  a 
positive  Creed,  because  He  gave  one  at  the  time, — 
that  sovereign  Truth,  from  which  all  others  flow, 
which  we  this  day  celebrate,  the  Faith  of  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  Three  Persons,  One  God. 
This  doctrine  then,  at  least,  is  necessary  to  be  be- 
lieved by  every  one  in  order  to  salvation :  and  that 
certain  other  doctrines  are  also  necessary,  is  plain 
from  other  parts  of  Scripture :  as  for  instance,  our 
Lord's  Resurrection,  from  St.  Paul's  words  to  the 
Romans  ^  Now,  this  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection, 
which  closed  our  Lord's  earthly  mission,  is  evidently 
at  a  wide  interval  in  the  series  of  doctrines  from 
that  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  whole  Dispensation ;  so  that  a  thought- 
ful mind,  which  fears  to  go  wrong,  will  see  reason 
to  conclude  even  from  hence,  that  perchance  the 
doctrines  which  go  between  the  two,  the  Incarna- 
tion, for  instance,  or  the  Crucifixion,  are  also  essen- 
tial parts  of  saving  Faith.  And,  in  fact,  various 
passages  of  Scripture,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
occur,  in  which  these  intermediate  Articles  are 
separately  made  the  basis  of  the  Gospel.  Again, 
let  St.  Paul's  language  to  the  Galatians  be  well 
considered,  who  had  departed  from  the  Faith  in 
what  might  have  seemed  but  a  subordinate  detail, 
the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  Law.     "  Though  we,  or 

'  Matt.  xvi.  16.  *  Rom.  x.  9. 


XXII.]  THE  GOSPEL,  A  TRUST  COMMITTED  TO  US.    303 

an  Angel  from  heaven,"  he  says,  "  preach  any  other 
Gospel  unto  you,  than  that  which  we  have  preached 
unto  you,  let  him  be  Anathema.  As  we  said  before, 
so  say  I  now  again,  If  any  man  preach  any  other 
Gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let 
him  be  Anathema  '."  The  state  of  the  case  then  is 
this : — we  know  that  some  doctrines  are  necessary 
to  be  believed  ;  we  are  not  told  how  many ;  and  we 
have  no  powers  of  mind  adequate  to  the  task  of 
solving  the  problem.  We  cannot  give  any  sufficient 
reason,  beside  the  revealed  word,  why  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  itself  should  be  essential ;  and  if  it 
is  essential  nevertheless,  why  should  not  any  other  ? 
How  dangerous  then  is  it  to  trifle  with  any  portion 
of  the  message  committed  to  us !  Surely  we  are 
bound  to  guard  what  may  be  material  in  it,  as  care- 
fully as  if  we  knew  it  to  be  so  ;  our  not  knowing  it, 
so  far  from  being  a  reason  for  indifference,  becom- 
ing an  additional  motive  for  anxiety  and  watchful- 
ness. And,  while  we  do  not  dare  anticipate  God's 
final  judgment  by  attaching  the  Anathema  to  indi- 
vidual unbelievers,  yet  neither  do  we  dare  conceal 
any  part  of  the  doctrines  guarded  by  it,  lest  haply  it 
should  be  found  to  lie  against  ourselves,  who  have 
"  shunned  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God." 

To  conclude. — ^The  error  against  which  these  re- 
marks are  directed,  viz.  that  of  systematizing  and 
simplifying  the  Gospel  Faith,  making  much  of  one 

*  Gal.  i.  8,  9. 


304  TRINITY  SUNDAY.  [Sehm.  XXII. 

or  two  articles  of  it,  and  disparaging  or  dismissing 
the  rest,  is  not  confined  to  this  province  of  religion 
only.  In  the  same  spirit,  sometimes  the  Ordinances, 
sometimes  the  Polity  of  the  Church,  are  dishonoured 
and  neglected ;  the  doctrine  of  Baptism  contrasted 
with  that  of  inw^ard  Sanctification,  precepts  of 
**  decency  and  order"  made  light  of  before  the 
command  to  evangelize  the  heathen,  the  injunction 
to  "  stand  in  the  old  ways"  broken  with  a  view  to 
increase  the  so-called  efficiency  of  our  ecclesiastical 
institutions.  In  like  manner,  by  one  class  of  rea- 
soners  the  Gospels  are  made  every  thing,  by  another 
the  Epistles.  In  all  ages,  indeed,  consistent  obe- 
dience is  a  very  rare  endowment ;  but  in  this  culti- 
vated age,  we  have  undertaken  to  defend  inconsist- 
ency on  grounds  of  reason.  On  the  other  hand  hear 
the  words  of  Eternal  Truth.  "  Whosoever  shall 
break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  aiid  shall 
teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  ;  but  whosoever  shall  do  and 
teach  them,  the  same  shall  be  called  great  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  ^" 

'  Matt.  V.  19. 


SERMON  XXIIL 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARNABAS  THE  APOSTLE. 
TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR. 


Acts  xi.  24. 
He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  faith. 

When  Christ  came  to  form  a  people  unto  Himself 
to  show  forth  His  praise,  He  took  of  every  kind. 
Highways  and  hedges,  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the 
city  furnished  guests  for  His  supper,  as  well  as  the 
wilderness  of  Judea,  or  the  courts  of  the  Temple. 
His  first  followers  are  a  sort  of  type  of  the  general 
Church,  in  which  many  and  various  minds  are  as 
one.  And  this  is  one  use,  if  we  duly  improve  it, 
of  our  Festivals ;  which  set  before  us  specimens  of 
the  Divine  Life  under  the  same  diversity  of  out- 
ward circumstances,  advantages,  and  dispositions, 
which  we  discern  around  us.  The  especial  grace 
poured  upon  the  Apostles  and  their  associates, 
whether  miraculous  or  moral,  had  no  tendency  to 
destroy  their  respective  peculiarities  of  temper  and 
character,  to  invest  them  with  a  sanctity  beyond 

VOL.  II.  X 


306  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Seem. 

our  imitation,  or  to  preclude  failings  and  errors 
which  may  be  our  warning.  It  left  them,  as  it 
found  them,  men.  Peter  and  John,  for  instance, 
the  simple  fishers  on  the  lake  of  Gennesareth, 
Simon  the  Zealot,  Matthew  the  busy  tax-gatherer, 
and  the  ascetic  Baptist,  how  different  are  these, — 
first,  from  each  other, — then,  from  Apollos  the  elo- 
quent Alexandrian,  Paul  the  learned  Pharisee,  Luke 
the  physician,  or  the  eastern  sages,  whom  we  cele- 
brate at  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany ;  and  these  again 
how  different  from  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  or  the 
Innocents,  or  Simeon  and  Anna,  who  are  brought 
before  us  at  the  Feast  of  the  Purification,  or  the 
women  who  ministered  to  our  Lord,  Mary  the  wife 
of  Cleophas,  the  Mother  of  James  and  John,  Mary 
Magdalene,  Martha  and  Mary,  sisters  of  Lazarus ; 
or  again,  from  the  widow  with  her  two  mites,  the 
woman  whose  issue  of  blood  was  staunched,  and 
she  who  poured  forth  tears  of  penitence  upon  His 
feet,  and  the  ignorant  Samaritan  at  the  well !  More- 
over, the  definiteness  and  evident  truth  of  many  of 
the  characters  presented  to  us  in  the  Gospels  serve 
to  realize  to  us  the  history,  and  to  help  our  faith, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  afford  us  abundant  in- 
struction. Such,  for  instance,  is  the  immature 
ardour  of  James  and  John,  the  sudden  fall  of  Peter, 
the  obstinacy  of  Thomas,  and  the  cowardice  of 
Mark.  St.  Barnabas  furnishes  us  with  a  lesson  in 
his  own  way;  nor  shall  I  be  wanting  in  piety 
towards  that  Holy  Apostle,  if  on  this  his  day  I  hold 


XXIII.]      TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  307 

him  forth,  not  only  in  the  peculiar  graces  of  his 
character,  but  in  those  parts  of  it  in  which  he 
becomes  our  warning,  not  our  example. 

The  text  says,  that  "  he  was  a  good  man,  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith."  This  praise  of 
goodness  is  explained  by  his  very  name,  Barnabas, 
"  the  son  of  consolation,"  which  was  given  him, 
as  it  appears,  to  mark  his  character  of  kindness, 
gentleness,  considerateness,  warmth  of  heart,  com- 
passion, and  munificence. 

His  acts  answer  to  this  account  of  him.  The 
first  we  hear  of  him  is  his  selling  some  land  which 
was  his,  and  giving  the  proceeds  to  the  Apostles,  to 
distribute  to  his  poorer  brethren.  The  next  notice 
of  him  sets  before  us  a  second  deed  of  kindness,  of 
as  amiable,  though  of  a  mere  private  character. 
"  When  Saul  was  come  to  Jerusalem,  he  assayed 
to  join  himself  to  the  disciples ;  but  they  were  all 
afraid  of  him,  and  believed  not  that  he  was  a  dis- 
ciple. But  Barnabas  took  him,  and  brought  him 
to  the  Apostles,  and  declared  how  he  had  seen  the 
Lord  in  the  way,  and  that  He  had  spoken  to  him, 
and  how  he  had  preached  boldly  at  Damascus,  in 
the  name  of  Jesus '."  Next,  he  is  mentioned  in  the 
text,  and  still  with  commendation  of  the  same  kind. 
How  had  he  shown  that  "  he  was  a  good  man  ?" 
by  going  on  a  mission  of  love  to  the  first  converts 
at  Antioch.    Barnabas,  above  the  rest,  was  honoured 

'  Acts  ix.  26,  27. 
X  2 


308  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

by  the  Church  with  this  work,  which  had  in  view 
the  encouraging  and  binding  together  in  unity 
and  strength  this  incipient  fruit  of  God's  grace. 
"  When  he  came,  and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God, 
he  was  glad ;"  (surely  this  circumstance  itself  is 
mentioned  by  way  of  showing  his  character ;) 
"  and  exhorted  them  all  that  with  purpose  of 
heart  they  would  cleave  unto  the  Lord."  Thus  he 
may  even  be  accounted  the  founder  of  the  Church 
of  Antioch,  being  aided  by  St.  Paul,  whom  he  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  thither.  Next,  on  occasion  of 
an  approaching  famine,  he  joined  with  St.  Paul  in 
being  the  minister  of  the  Gentiles'  bounty  towards 
the  poor  saints  of  Judaea.  Afterwards,  when  the 
Judaizing  Christians  troubled  the  Gentile  converts 
with  the  Mosaic  ordinances,  Barnabas  was  sent  with 
the  same  Apostle  and  others  from  the  Church  of 
Jerusalem  to  relieve  their  perplexity.  Thus  the 
Scripture  history  of  him  does  but  answer  to  his 
name,  and  is  scarcely  more  than  a  continued  ex- 
emplification of  his  characteristic  grace.  Moreover, 
let  the  particular  force  of  his  name  be  observed. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  called  our  Paraclete,  as  assisting, 
advocating,  encouraging,  comforting  us ;  now,  as  if 
to  put  the  highest  honour  upon  the  Apostle,  the 
same  term  is  applied  to  him.  He  is  called  "  the 
Son  of  Consolation,"  or  the  Paraclete ;  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  honourable  title,  we  are  told 
that  when  the  Gentile  converts  of  Antioch  had 
received  from  his  and  St.  Paul's  hands  the  Apostles' 


XXIII.]      TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  309 

decision  against  tlie  Judaizers,  "  they  rejoiced  for 
the  consolation" 

On  the  other  hand,  on  two  occasions  his  conduct 
is  unbecoming  an  Apostle,  as  instancing  somewhat 
of  that  infirmity  which  persons  of  his  peculiar  cha- 
racter frequently  exhibit.  Both  are  cases  of  in- 
dulgence towards  the  faults  of  others,  yet  in  a 
different  way ;  the  one,  an  over-easiness  in  a  matter 
of  doctrine,  the  other,  in  a  matter  of  conduct. 
With  all  his  tenderness  for  the  Gentiles,  yet  on 
one  occasion  he  could  not  resist  indulging  the  pre- 
judices of  some  Judaizing  brethren,  who  came  from 
Jerusalem  to  Antioch.  Peter  first  was  carried 
away ;  before  they  came,  "  he  did  eat  with  the 
Gentiles,  but  when  they  were  come,  he  withdrew, 
and  separated  himself,  fearing  them  which  were  of 
the  circumcision.  And  the  other  Jews  dissembled 
likewise  with  him ;  insomuch,  that  Barnabas  also 
was  carried  away  with  their  dissimulation."  The 
other  instance  was  his  indulgent  treatment  of  IVIarJv, 
his  sister's  son,  which  occasioned  the  quarrel  be- 
tween him  and  St.  Paul.  "  Barnabas  determined 
to  take  with  them,"  on  their  Apostolic  journey, 
"  John,  whose  surname  was  Mark.  But  Paul 
thought  not  good  to  take  him  with  them,  who  de- 
parted from  them  from  Pamphylia,  and  went  not 
with  them  to  the  work  \" 

Now  it  is  very  plain  what  description  of  charac- 

'   Gal.  ii.  12,  13.     Acts  xv.  37,  38. 


310  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Sekm. 

ter,  and  what  kind  of  lesson,  is  brought  before  us  in 
the  history  of  this  Holy  Apostle.  Holy  he  was,  full 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  ;  still  the  character- 
istics and  the  infirmities  of  man  remained  in  him, 
and  thus  he  is  "  unto  us  for  an  ensample,"  con- 
sistently with  the  reverence  we  feel  towards  him  as 
one  of  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  Church.  He 
is  an  ensample  and  warning  to  us,  not  only  as  show- 
ing us  what  we  ought  to  be,  but  as  evidencing  how 
the  highest  gifts  and  graces  are  corrupted  in  our 
sinful  nature,  if  we  are  not  diligent  to  walk  step  by 
step,  according  to  the  light  of  God's  command- 
ments. Be  our  mind  as  heavenly  as  it  may  be, 
most  loving,  most  holy,  most  zealous,  most  ener- 
getic, most  peaceful,  yet  if  we  look  off  from  Him 
for  a  moment,  and  look  towards  ourselves,  at  once 
these  excellent  tempers  fall  into  some  extreme  or 
mistake.  Charity  becomes  over-easiness,  holiness 
is  tainted  with  spiritual  pride,  zeal  degenerates  into 
fierceness,  activity  eats  up  the  spirit  of  prayer,  hope 
is  heightened  into  presumption.  We  cannot  guide 
ourselves.  God's  revealed  word  is  our  sovereign 
rule  of  conduct ;  and  therefore,  among  other  rea- 
sons, is  faith  so  principal  a  grace,  for  it  is  the 
directing  power  which  receives  the  commands  of 
Christ,  and  applies  them  to  the  heart. 

And  there  is  particular  reason  for  dwelling  upon 
the  character  of  Barnabas  in  this  age,  because  he 
may  be  considered  as  the  type  of  the  better  sort  of 
men  among  us,  and  those  who  are  most  in  esteem. 


XXIII.]       TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  3\l 

The  world  itself  indeed  is  what  it  ever  has  been, 
ungodly ;  but  in  every  age  it  chooses  some  one  or 
other  peculiarity  of  the  Gospel  as  the  badge  of  its 
particular  fashion  for  the  time  being,  and  sets  up  as 
objects  of  admiration  those  who  eminently  possess 
it.  Without  asking,  therefore,  how  far  men  act 
from  Christian  principle,  or  only  from  the  imitation 
of  it,  or  from  some  mere  secular  or  selfish  motive, 
yet,  certainly,  this  age,  as  far  as  appearance  goes, 
may  be  accounted  in  its  character  not  unlike  Bar- 
nabas, as  being  considerate,  delicate,  courteous, 
and  generous-minded  in  all  that  concerns  the  inter- 
course of  man  with  man.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
thoughtful  kindness  among  us,  of  conceding  in 
little  matters,  of  scrupulous  propriety  of  words, 
and  a  sort  of  code  of  liberal  and  honourable  deal- 
ing in  the  conduct  of  society.  There  is  a  settled 
regard  for  the  rights  of  individuals,  and  a  sedu- 
lousness  in  protecting,  relieving,  and  benefitting 
the  poorer  classes,  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and 
the  widow.  In  such  a  country  as  ours,  there  must 
always  be  numberless  instances  of  distress  after  all ; 
yet  the  anxiety  to  relieve  it  existing  among  the 
more  wealthy  classes  is  unquestionable.  And  it  is 
as  unquestionable,  that  we  are  somewhat  disposed  to 
regard  ourselves  favourably  in  consequence ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  our  national  trials  and  fears,  to  say 
(nay  sometimes  with  real  humility  and  piety)  that 
we  do  trust  that  these  characteristic  virtues  of  the 
age  may  be  allowed  to  come  up  as  a  memorial 


312  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Sbbm. 

before  God,  and  to  plead  for  us.  When  we  think 
of  the  commandments,  we  know  Charity  to  be  the 
first  and  greatest ;  and  we  are  tempted  to  ask  with 
the  young  ruler,  "  What  lack  we  yet  ?" 

I  ask  then,  by  way  of  reply,  does  not  our  kind- 
ness too  often  degenerate  into  weakness,  and  thus 
become  not  Christian  Charity,  but  lack  of  Charity, 
as  regards  the  objects  of  it?  Are  we  sufficiently 
careful  to  do  what  is  right  and  just,  rather  than 
what  is  pleasant?  do  we  clearly  understand  our 
professed  principles,  and  do  we  keep  to  them  under 
temptation  ? 

The  history  of  St.  Barnabas  will  help  us  to 
answer  this  question  honestly.  Now  I  fear  we  lack 
altogether,  what  he  lacked  in  certain  occurrences 
in  it,  firmness,  manliness,  godly  severity.  I  fear  it 
must  be  confessed,  that  our  kindness,  instead  of 
being  directed  and  braced  by  principle,  too  often 
becomes  languid  and  unmeaning;  that  it  is  ex- 
erted on  improper  objects  and  out  of  season,  and 
so  is  uncharitable  in  two  ways,  indulging  those  who 
should  be  chastised,  and  preferring  their  comfort  to 
those  who  are  really  deserving.  We  are  over- 
tender  in  dealing  with  sin  and  sinners.  We  are 
deficient  in  jealous  custody  of  the  revealed  Truths 
which  Christ  has  left  us.  We  allow  men  to  speak 
against  the  Church,  its  ordinances,  or  its  teaching, 
without  remonstrating  with  them.  We  do  not 
separate  from  heretics,  nay  we  object  to  the  word 
as  if  uncharitable ;  and  when  such  texts  are  brought 


XXIII.]      TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  313 

against  us  as  St.  John's   command,   not   to   show 
hospitality  towards  them,  we  are  not  slow  to  an- 
swer that  they  do  not  apply  to  us.   Now,  I  scarcely 
can  suppose  any  one  really  means  to  say  for  cer- 
tain, that  these  commands  are  superseded  in  the 
present  day,  and  is  quite  satisfied  upon  the  point ; 
it  will  rather  be  found  that  men  who  so  speak, 
merely  wish  to  put  the  subject  from  them.     For 
a  long  while  they  have  forgotten  that  there  were 
any  such  commands  in  Scripture ;  they  have  lived 
as  though  there  were  not,  and  not  being  in  circum- 
stances which  immediately  called  for  the  considera- 
tion of  them,  they  have  familiarized  their  minds 
to  a  contrary  view  of  the  matter,  and  built  their 
opinions   upon  it.     When  reminded    of  the  fact, 
they  are  sorry  to  have  to  consider  it,  as  they  per- 
haps avow.     They  perceive  that  it  interferes  with 
the  line  of  conduct  to  which  they  are  accustomed. 
They  are  vexed,  not  as  if  allowing  themselves  to  be 
wrong,  but   as  feeling   conscious  that  a  plausible 
argument    (to  say  the   least)  may  be   maintained 
against  them.     And  instead  of  daring  to  give  this 
argument  fair  play,  as  in  honesty  they  ought,  they 
hastily  satisfy  themselves  that  objections  may  be 
taken  against  it,  use  some  vague  terms,  of  disappro- 
bation against  those  who  use  it,  recur  to,  and  dwell 
upon,  their  own  habitual  view  of  the  benevolent 
and  indulgent  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  then  dis- 
miss the  subject  altogether,  as  if  it  had  never  been 
brought  before  them.     Observe  how  they  rid  them- 


314  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Sehm. 

selves  of  it ;  it  is  by  confronting  it  with  other  views 
of  Christianity,  which  they  consider  incompatible 
with  it ;  whereas  the  very  problem  which  Christian 
duty  requires  us  to  accomplish,  is  the  reconciling  in 
our  conduct  opposite  virtues.  It  is  not  difficult 
(comparatively  speaking)  to  cultivate  single  virtues. 
A  man  takes  some  one  partial  view  of  his  duty, 
whether  severe  or  kindly,  whether  of  action  or  of 
meditation :  he  enters  into  it  with  all  his  might,  he 
opens  his  heart  to  its  influence,  and  allows  himself 
to  be  sent  forward  on  its  current.  This  is  not  diffi- 
cult ;  there  is  no  anxious  vigilance  or  self-denial  in 
it.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  a  pleasure  often  in 
thus  sweeping  along  in  one  way ;  and  especially  in 
matters  of  giving  and  conceding.  Liberality  is 
always  popular,  whatever  be  the  subject  of  it ;  and 
excites  a  glow  of  pleasure  and  self-approbation  in 
the  giver,  even  though  it  involves  no  sacrifice,  nay, 
is  exercised  upon  the  property  of  others.  Thus  in 
the  sacred  province  of  religion,  men  are  led  on, — 
without  any  bad  principle,  without  that  utter  dis- 
like or  ignorance  of  the  Truth,  or  that  self-conceit, 
which  are  chief  instruments  of  Satan  at  this  day, 
nor  again  from  mere  cowardice  or  worldliness,  but 
from  thoughtlessness,  a  sanguine  temper,  the  ex- 
citement of  the  moment,  the  love  of  making  others 
happy,  susceptibility  of  flattery,  and  the  habit  of 
looking  only  one  way, — led  on  to  give  up  Gospel 
Truths,  to  consent  to  open  the  Church  to  the 
various  denominations  of  error  which  abound  among 


XXIII]       TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  315 

US,  or  to  alter  our  Services  so  as  to  please  the 
scoffer,  tlie  lukewarm,  or  the  vicious.     To  be  kind 
is  their  one  principle  of  action ;  and,  when  they 
find  offence  taken  at  the  Church's  creed,  they  begin 
to  think  how  they  may  modify  or  curtail  it,  under 
the  same  sort  of  feeling  as  would  lead  them  to  be 
generous  in  a  money  transaction,  or  to  accommo- 
date another  at  the  price  of  personal  inconvenience. 
Not   understanding  that  their  religious  privileges 
are  a  trust  to  be  handed  on  to  posterity,  a  sacred 
property  entailed  upon  the  Christian  family,  and 
their  own  in  enjoyment  rather  than  in  possession, 
they  act   the   spendthrift,  and  are   lavish   of  the 
goods  of  others.     Thus,  for  instance,  they  speak 
against  the  Anathemas  of  the  Athanasian  Creed, 
or  of  the  Commination  Service,  or  of  certain  of  the 
Psalms,  and  wish  to  rid  themselves  of  them.     Un- 
doubtedly, even  the  best  specimens  of  these  men 
are  deficient  in  a  due  appreciation  of  the  Christian 
Mysteries,  and  of  their  own  responsibility  in  pre- 
serving and  transmitting  them ;  yet,  some  of  them 
are  such  truly  "  good"  men,  so  amiable  and  feeling, 
so   benevolent  to   the   poor,  and   of  such   repute 
among  all  classes,  in  short,  fulfil  so  excellently  the 
office  of  shining  like  lights  in  the  world,  and  wit- 
nesses of  Him  "  who  went  about  doing  good,"  that 
those  who  most  deplore  their  failing,  will  still  be 
most  desirous  of  excusing  them  personally,  while 
they  feel  it  a  duty  to  withstand  them.  Sometimes  it 
may  be,  that  these  persons  cannot  bring  themselves 


316  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

to  think  evil  of  others ;  and  harbour  men  of  here- 
tical opinions  or  immoral  life  from  the  same  easiness 
of  temper  which  makes  them  fit  subjects  for  the 
practices  of  the  cunning  and  selfish  in  worldly  mat- 
ters. And  sometimes  they  fasten  on  certain  favour- 
able points  of  character  in  the  person  they  should 
discountenance,  and  cannot  get  themselves  to  at- 
tend to  any  but  these ;  arguing  that  he  is  certainly 
pious  and  well-meaning,  and  that  his  errors  plainly 
do  himself  no  harm ; — whereas  the  question  is  not 
about  their  effects  on  this  or  that  individual,  but 
simply  whether  they  are  errors  ;  and  again,  whether 
they  are  not  certain  to  be  injurious  to  the  mass  of 
men,  or,  on  the  long  run,  as  it  is  called.  Or  they 
cannot  bear  to  hurt  another  by  the  expression  of 
their  disapprobation,  though  it  be  that  "  his  soul 
may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord."  Or  perhaps 
they  are  deficient  in  keenness  of  intellectual  percep- 
tion as  to  the  moral  mischief  of  certain  speculative 
opinions,  as  they  consider  them  ;  and  not  knowing 
their  ignorance  enough  to  forbear  the  use  of  private 
judgment,  nor  having  faith  enough  to  acquiesce  in 
God's  word,  or  the  decision  of  His  Church,  they 
incur  the  responsibility  of  serious  changes.  Or, 
perhaps  they  shelter  themselves  behind  some  con- 
fused notion,  which  they  have  taken  up,  of  the 
peculiar  character  of  our  own  Church,  arguing  that 
they  belong  to  a  tolerant  Church,  that  it  is  but  con- 
sistent as  well  as  right  in  her  members  to  be  tole- 
rant, and  that  they  are  but  exemplifying  tolerance 


XXIII.]       TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  317 

in  their  own  conduct,  when  they  treat  with  indul- 
gence those  who  are  lax  in  creed  or  conduct.  Now, 
if  by  the  tolerance  of  our  Church,  it  be  meant  that 
she  does  not  countenance  the  use  of  fire  and  sword 
against  those  who  separate  from  her,  so  far  she  is 
truly  called  a  tolerant  Church ;  but  she  is  not  tole- 
rant of  error,  as  those  very  formularies,  which  they 
wish  to  remove,  testify;  and  if  she  retains  within 
her  bosom,  proud  intellects,  and  cold  hearts,  and 
unclean  hands,  and  dispenses  her  blessings  to  those 
who  disbelieve  or  are  unworthy  of  them,  this  arises 
from  other  causes,  certainly  not  from  her  principles; 
else  were  she  guilty  of  Eli's  sin,  which  may  not  be 
imagined. 

Such  is  the  defect  of  mind  suggested  to  us  in  the 
instances  of  imperfection  recorded  of  St.  Barnabas ; 
it  will  be  more  clearly  understood  by  contrasting 
him  with  St.  John.  We  cannot  compare  good  men 
together  in  their  points  of  excellence ;  but  whether 
the  one  or  the  other  of  these  Apostles  had  the  greater 
share  of  the  spirit  of  love,  we  all  know,  that  any 
how  the  Beloved  Disciple  abounded  in  it.  His 
General  Epistle  is  full  of  exhortations  to  cherish 
that  blessed  temper,  and  his  name  is  associated  in 
our  minds  with  such  heavenly  dispositions  as  are 
more  immediately  connected  with  it, — contempla- 
tiveness,  serenity  of  soul,  clearness  of  faith.  Now 
see  in  what  he  differed  from  Barnabas ;  in  uniting 
charity  with  a  firm  maintenance  of  the  Truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus.    So  far  were  his  fervour  and  exuberance 


318  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

of  charity  from  interfering  with  his  zeal  for  God, 
that  rather,  the  more  he  loved  men,  the  more  he 
desired  to  bring  before  them  the  great  unchangeable 
Verities,  to  which  they  must  submit,  if  they  would 
see  life,  and  on  which  a  weak  indulgence  suffers 
them  to  shut  their  eyes.  He  loved  the  brethren, 
but  he  "  loved  them  in  the  Truth  \"  He  loved 
them  for  the  Living  Truth's  sake  which  had  re- 
deemed them,  for  the  Truth  which  was  in  them, 
for  the  Truth  which  was  the  measure  of  their 
spiritual  attainments.  He  loved  the  Church  so 
honestly,  that  he  was  stern  towards  those  who 
troubled  her.  He  loved  the  world  so  wisely,  that 
he  preached  the  Truth  in  it ;  yet,  if  men  rejected 
it,  he  did  not  love  them  so  inordinately  as  to  forget 
the  supremacy  of  the  Truth,  as  the  Word  of  Him 
who  is  above  all.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten  then, 
when  we  picture  to  ourselves  this  saintly  Apostle, 
this  unearthly  Prophet,  who  fed  upon  the  sights 
and  voices  of  the  world  of  spirits,  and  looked  out 
heavenwards  day  by  day  for  Him,  whom  he  had 
once  seen  in  the  flesh,  that  this  is  he  who  gives  us 
that  command  about  shunning  heretics,  which  whe- 
ther of  force  in  this  age  or  not,  still  certainly  in 
any  age  is  (what  men  now  call)  severe ;  and  that 
this  command  of  his  is  but  in  unison  with  the 
fearful  descriptions  he  gives  in  other  parts  of  his 
inspired  writings  of  the   Presence,  the  Law,  and 

'  3  John  1. 


XXIII.]       TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  319 

the  Judgments  of  Almighty  God.  Who  can  deny 
that  the  Apocalypse  from  beginning  to  end  is  a 
very  fearful  book ;  I  may  say,  the  most  fearful  book 
in  Scripture,  full  of  accounts  of  the  wrath  of  God  ? 
Yet,  it  is  written  by  the  Apostle  of  love.  It  is 
possible  then,  for  a  man  to  be  at  once  kind  as 
Barnabas,  yet  zealous  as  Paul.  Strictness  and  ten- 
derness had  no  "  sharp  contention"  in  the  breast  of 
the  beloved  Disciple ;  they  found  their  perfect 
union,  yet  distinct  exercise,  in  the  grace  of  Charity, 
which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  whole  Law. 

I  wish  I  saw  any  prospect  of  this  element  of  zeal 
and  holy  sternness  springing  up  among  us,  to 
temper  and  give  character  to  the  languid  unmean- 
ing benevolence  which  we  misname  Christian  love. 
I  have  no  hope  of  my  country  till  I  see  it.  Many 
schools  of  Religion  and  Ethics  are  to  be  found 
among  us,  and  they  all  profess  to  magnify,  in  one 
shape  or  other,  what  they  consider  the  principle  of 
love ;  but  what  they  lack  is  a  firm  maintenance  of 
that  characteristic  of  the  Divine  Nature,  which,  in 
accommodation  to  our  infirmity,  is  named  by  St. 
John  and  his  brethren,  the  wrath  of  God.  Let 
this  be  well  observed.  There  are  men  who  are  ad- 
vocates of  Expedience;  these,  as  far  as  they  are 
religious  at  all,  resolve  conscience  into  an  instinct 
of  mere  benevolence,  and  refer  all  the  dealings  of 
Providence  with  His  creatures  to  the  same  one 
Attribute.  Hence,  they  consider  all  punishment 
to  be  remedial,  a  means  to  an  end,  deny  that  the 


320  ST.  BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

woe  threatened  against  sinners  is  of  eternal  dura- 
tion, and  explain  away  the  doctrine  of  the  Atone- 
ment.    There  are  others,  who  place  religion  in  the 
mere  exercise  of  the  excited  feelings ;  and  these  too 
look  upon  their  God  and  Saviour,  as  far  (that  is)  as 
they  themselves  are  concerned,  solely  as  a  God  of 
love.     They  believe   themselves   to  be   converted 
from  sin  to  righteousness  by  the  mere  manifestation 
of  that  love  to  their  souls,  drawing  them  on   to 
Him ;  and  they  imagine  that  that  same  love,  un- 
tired  by  any  possible  transgressions  on  their  part, 
will  surely  carry  forward  every  individual  so  chosen 
to   final   triumph.     Moreover,  as  accounting  that 
Christ  has  already  done  every  thing  for  their  salva- 
tion, they  do  not  feel  that  a  moral  change  is  neces- 
sary on  their  part,  or,  rather,  they  consider  that 
the  Vision  of  revealed  love  works  it  in  them  spon- 
taneously ;  in  either  case  dispensing  with  all  labo- 
rious  efforts,  all    "  fear  and   trembling,"  all   self- 
denial  in  "  working  out  their  salvation,"  nay,  look- 
ing upon  such  qualifications  with  suspicion,  as  lead- 
ing to  a  supposed  self-confidence  and  spiritual  pride. 
Once  more,  there  are  others  of  a  mystical  turn  of 
mind,  with  untutored  imaginations  and  subtle  in- 
tellects, who  follow  the  theories  of  the  old  Gentile 
philosophy.     These,  too,  are  accustomed  to  make 
love    the    one    principle    of    life   and    providence 
in   heaven  and   earth,  as   if  it  were  a  pervading 
Spirit  of  the  world,  finding  a  sympathy  in  every 
heart,  absorbing  all  things  into  itself,  and  kindling 


XXIII.]        TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR.  321 

a  rapturous  enjoyment  in  all  who  contemplate  it. 
They  sit  at  home  speculating,  and  separate  moral 
perfection  from  action.     These  men  either  hold,  or 
are  in  the  way  to  hold,  that  the  human  soul  is  pure 
by  nature;  sin,  an  external   principle    corrupting 
it ;    evil,    destined    to    final    annihilation ;    Truth 
attained  by  means  of  the  imagination ;  conscience, 
a  taste ;  holiness,  a  passive  contemplation  of  God ; 
and  obedience,  a  mere  pleasurable   work.      It  is 
difficult  to  discriminate  accurately  between  these 
three  schools  of  opinion,  without  using  words  of 
unseemly  familiarity ;  yet  I  have  said  enough  for 
those  who  wish  to  pursue  the  subject.     Let  it  be 
observed  then,  that  these  three  systems,  however 
different  from  each  other  in  their  principles  and 
spirit,  yet,  all  agree  in  this  one  respect,  viz., 'in 
overlooking  that  the  Christian's  God  is  represented 
in  Scripture,  not  only  as  a  God  of  love,  but  also  as 
"  a  consuming  fire."     Rejecting  the  testimony  of 
Scripture,  no  wonder  they  also  reject  that  of  con- 
science, which  assuredly  forebodes  ill  to  the  sinner, 
but  which,  as  the  exclusive  religionist  maintains, 
is  not  the  voice  of  God  at  all, — or  is  a  mere  bene- 
volence, according  to  the  disciple  of  Utility, — or, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  more  mystical  sort,  a  kind 
of  passion  for  the  beautiful  and  sublime.     Regard- 
ing thus  "  the  goodness"  only,  and  not  "  the  seve- 
rity of  God,"  no   wonder   that  they  ungird  their 
loins  and  become  effeminate ;  no  wonder  that  their 
ideal  notion  of  a  perfect  Church,  is  a  Church  which 

VOL.  II.  Y 


ST.  BARNABAS.  [Serm. 

lets  every  one  go  on  his  own  way,  and  disclaims 
any  right  to  pronounce  an  opinion,  much  less  inflict 
a  censure  on  religious  error. 

But  those  who  think  themselves  and  others  in  risk 
of  an  eternal  curse,  dare  not  be  thus  indulgent. 
Here  then  lies  our  want  at  the  present  day,  for  this 
we  must  pray, — that  a  reform  may  come  in  the 
spirit  and  power  of  Elias.  We  must  pray  God  thus 
"  to  revive  His  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years ;"  to 
send  us  a  severe  Discipline,  the  Order  of  St.  Paul 
and  St.  John,  "  speaking  the  Truth  in  love,"  and 
"  loving  in  the  Truth,"  —  a  Witness  of  Christ, 
"  knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,"  fresh  from  the 
presence  of  Him  "  whose  heads  and  hairs  are  white 
like  wool,  as  white  as  snow,  and  whose  eyes  are  as 
a  flame  of  fire,  and  out  of  His  mouth  a  sharp  sword," 
— a  Witness  not  shrinking  from  proclaiming  His 
wrath,  as  a  real  characteristic  of  His  glorious  nature, 
though  expressed  in  human  language  for  our  sakes, 
proclaiming  the  narrowness  of  the  way  of  life,  the 
difficulty  of  attaining  Heaven,  the  danger  of  riches, 
the  necessity  of  taking  up  our  cross,  the  excellence 
and  beauty  of  self-denial  and  austerity,  the  hazard 
of  disbelieving  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  the  duty  of 
zealously  contending  for  it.  Thus  only  will  the 
tidings  of  mercy  come  with  force  to  the  souls  of 
men,  with  a  constraining  power  and  with  an  abid- 
ing impress,  when  hope  and  fear  go  together ;  then 
only  will  Christians  be  successful  in  fight,  "quit- 
ting themselves  like  men,"  conquering  and  ruling 

1 


XXIII.]        TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  ERROR. 

the  fury  of  the  world,  and  maintaining  the  Church 
in  purity  and  power,  when  they  condense  their  feel- 
ings by  a  severe  discipline,  and  are  loving  in  the 
midst  of  firmness,  strictness,  and  holiness.  Then 
only  can  we  prosper,  (under  the  blessing  and  grace 
of  Him  who  is  the  Spirit  both  of  love  and  of  truth,) 
when  the  heart  of  Paul  is  vouchsafed  to  us,  to  with- 
stand even  Peter  and  Barnabas,  if  ever  they  are 
overcome  by  mere  human  feelings,  to  "  know 
henceforth  no  man  after  the  flesh,"  to  put  away  from 
us  sister's  son,  or  nearer  relative,  to  relinquish  the 
sight  of  them,  the  hope  of  them,  and  the  desire  of 
them,  when  He  commands,  who  raises  up  friends 
even  to  the  lonely,  if  they  trust  in  Him,  and  will 
give  us  "  within  His  walls  a  name  better  than  of 
sons  and  of  daughters,  an  everlasting  name  that 
shall  not  be  cut  off*^"  ndl^AlX     -2, 4 

'  Is.  Ivi.  4,  5. 


Y   2 


SERMON   XXIV. 


THE  FEAST  OF  THE  NATIVITY  OF  ST  JOHN  BAPTIST. 
REBUKING  SIN. 


Mark  vi.  18. 


John  had  said  unto  Herod,  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  thy 
brother's  wife. 

In  the  Collect  of  this  day,  we  pray  God  to  enable 
us  "boldly  to  rebuke  vice"  after  the  example  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  who  died  a  Martyr  in  the  faithful 
discharge  of  this  duty. 

Herod  the  Tetrarch  had  taken  his  brother's  wife. 
John  the  Baptist  protested  against  so  heinous  a  sin ; 
and  the  guilty  king,  though  he  could  not  bring 
himself  to  forsake  it,  yet  respected  the  prophet,  and 
tried  to  please  him  in  other  ways ;  but  Herodias, 
the  proud  and  cruel  woman  whom  he  had  married, 
resented  his  interference,  and  at  length  effected  his 
death.  I  need  not  go  through  the  details  of  this 
atrocious  history,  which  are  well  known  to  every 
reader  of  the  Gospels. 


Serm.  XXIV.]  REBUKING  SIN.  325 

St.  John  the  Baptist  had  a  most  difficult  office  to 
fulfil ;  that  of  rebuking  a  king.  Not  that  it  is  dif- 
ficult for  a  man  of  rude  arrogant  mind  to  say  a 
harsh  thing  to  men  in  power, — nay,  rather,  it  is  a 
gratification  to  such  a  one ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  re- 
buke well,  that  is,  at  a  right  time,  in  a  right  spirit, 
and  a  right  manner.  The  Holy  Baptist  rebuked 
Herod  without  making  him  angry;  therefore  he 
must  have  rebuked  him  with  gravity,  temper,  sin- 
cerity, and  an  evident  good- will  towards  him.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  spoke  so  firmly,  sharply,  and 
faithfully,  that  his  rebuke  cost  him  his  life. 

We  who  now  live  have  not  that  extreme  duty 
put  upon  us  with  which  St.  John  was  laden ;  yet 
every  one  of  us  has  a  share  in  his  office,  inasmuch 
as  we  are  all  bound  "  to  rebuke  vice  boldly,"  when 
we  have  fit  opportunities  for  so  doing.  I  proceed 
then  to  make  some  remarks  upon  the  duty,  as  en- 
forced upon  us  by  to-day's  Festival.   . 

Now,  it  is  plain  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  men 
in  the  world ; — those  who  put  themselves  forward, 
and  speak  much ;  and  those  who  retire,  and  from 
indolence,  timidity,  or  fastidiousness,  do  not  care 
to  express  an  opinion  on  what  comes  before  them. 
Neither  of  these  classes  will  act  the  part  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist  in  their  intercourse  with  others : 
the  retiring  will  not  rebuke  vice  at  all ;  the  bold 
and  ill-mannered  will  take  a  pleasure  in  giving 
their  judgment,  whether  they  are  fit  judges  or  not, 


326  ST.  JOHN  BAFHST.  [Serm. 

whether  they  ought  to  speak  or  not,  and  at  all 
times  proper  and  improper. 

These  self-appointed  censors  of  vice  are  not  to  be 
countenanced  or  tolerated  by  any  serious  Christian. 
The  subjects  of  their  attack  are  often  open  to  cen- 
sure, it  is  true ;  and  should  be  censured,  but  not 
by  them.  Yet  these  men  take  upon  them,  on  their 
own  authority,  to  blame  them ; — often,  because  those 
whose  duty  it  is,  neglect  to  do  so ;  and  then  they 
flatter  themselves  with  the  notion  that  they  are 
energetic  champions  of  virtue,  strenuous  and  useful 
guardians  of  public  morals  or  popular  rights. 
There  is  a  multitude  of  such  men  in  these  days, 
who  succeed  the  better,  because  they  conceal 
their  names ;  and  are  thus  relieved  of  the  trouble 
of  observing  delicacy  in  their  manner  of  rebuking, 
escape  the  retaliation  which  the  assailed  party  may 
inflict  on  an  open  assailant,  and  are  able  to  dispense 
with  such  requisites  of  personal  character  and  de- 
portment as  are  ordinarily  expected  from  those  who 
assume  the  office  of  the  Baptist.  And,  by  speaking 
against  men  of  note,  they  gratify  the  bad  passions 
of  the  multitude ;  fond,  as  it  ever  is,  of  tales  of 
crime,  and  malevolent  towards  the  great ;  and  thus 
they  increase  their  influence,  and  come  to  be  looked 
up  to  and  feared. 

Now  such  officious  accusers  of  vice  are,  I  say, 
to  be  disowned  by  all  who  wish  to  be  really  Christ- 
ians.     Every   one   has   his    place,    one    to    obey, 


XXIV.]  REBUKING  SIN.  3^7 

another  to  rule,  a  third  to  rebuke.  It  is  not  reli- 
gious to  undertake  an  office  without  a  commission. 
John  the  Baptist  was  miraculously  called  to  the 
duties  of  a  reformer  and  teacher.  Afterwards,  an 
Order  of  men  was  appointed  for  the  performance  of 
the  same  services ;  and  this  order  remains  to  this 
day  in  an  uninteiTupted  succession.  Those  who  C; 
take  upon  them  to  rebuke  vice  without  producing  I 
credentials  of  their  authority,  are  intruding  upon  •  ^ 
the  office  of  God's  Ministers.  They  may  indeed 
succeed  in  their  usurpation,  they  may  become  popu- 
lar, be  supported  by  the  many,  and  be  recognised 
even  by  the  persons  whom  they  attack,  still  the 
function  of  Censor  is  from  God,  whose  final  judg- 
ment it  precedes  and  shadows  forth :  and  not  a 
whole  generation  of  self-willed  men  can  bestow  on 
their  organ  the  powers  of  a  divine  ambassador.  It 
is  our  part,  then,  anxiously  to  guard  against  the 
guilt  of  acquiescing  in  the  claims  of  such  false 
prophets,  lest  we  fall  under  the  severity  of  our 
Lord's  prediction :  "  I  am  come  in  My  Father's 
name,"  he  says,  "  and  ye  receive  Me  not.  If  ano- 
ther shall  come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye  will 
receive  \" 

I  notice  this  peculiarity  of  the  Reprover's  office, 
as  founded  on  a  Divine  Commission,  and  the  con- 
sequent sin  of  undertaking  it  without  a  call,  for 
another  reason.     Besides  these  bad  men,  who  cla- 

^  '1  John  V.  43. 


328  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST.  [Seem. 

mour  against  vice  for  gain  and  envy's  sake,  I  know 
there  are  others  of  a  better  stamp,  who  imagine 
that  they  ought  to  rebuke,  when  in  truth  they  ought 
not ;  and  who,  on  finding  that  they  cannot  do  the 
office  well,  or  on  getting  into  trouble  in  attempting 
it,  are  perplexed  and  discouraged,  or  consider  that 
they  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake.  But  our  duty 
is  commonly  a  far  more  straightforward  matter 
than  excited  and  over-sensitive  minds  are  apt  to 
suppose,  that  is,  as  far  as  concerns  our  knowing  it ; 
and,  when  we  find  ourselves  perplexed  to  ascertain 
it,  we  should  ask  ourselves,  whether  we  have  not 
embarrassed  our  course  by  some  unnecessary  or 
self-willed  conduct  of  our  own.  For  instance,  when 
men  imagine  it  to  be  their  duty  to  rebuke  their 
superiors,  they  get  into  difficulties,  for  the  simple 
reason,  that  it  is  and  ever  will  be  difficult  to  do 
another  man's  duty.  When  the  young  take  upon 
them  to  set  right  their  elders,  private  Christians 
speak  against  the  Clergy,  the  Clergy  attempt  to 
direct  their  Bishops,  or  servants  their  masters,  they 
will  find  that,  generally  speaking,  the  attempt  does 
not  succeed  ;  and  perhaps  they  will  impute  their 
failure  to  circumstances, — whereas,  the  real  reason 
is  that  there  was  no  call  on  them  to  rebuke  at  all. 
There  is  ever,  indeed,  a  call  on  them  to  keep  from 
sin  themselves  in  all  things,  which  itself  is  a  silent 
protest  against  whatever  is  wrong  in  high  places, — 
and  this  they  cannot  avoid,  and  need  not  wish  to 
avoid ;  but  very  seldom,  only  in  extreme  cases,  for 


XXIV.]  REBUKING  SIN.  329 

instance,  as,  when  the  Faith  is  in  jeopardy,  or  in 
order  to  protect  or  rescue  the  simple  minded,  is  a 
man  called  upon  in  the  way  of  duty,  directly  to 
blame  or  denounce  his  superiors. 

And  in  truth  we  have  quite  enough  to  do  in  the 
way  of  rebuking  vice,  if  we  confine  our  censure  to 
those  who  are  the  lawful  subjects  of  it.  These  are 
our  equals  and  our  inferiors.  Here,  again,  it  is 
easy  to  use  violent  language  towards  those  who  are 
below  us  in  station,  to  be  arrogant,  to  tyrannize ; 
but  such  was  not  St.  John  the  Baptist's  manner  of 
reproving.  He  reproved  under  the  prospect  of 
suffering  for  his  faithfulness ;  and  we  should  never 
use  a  strong  word,  however  true  it  be,  without 
being  willing  to  acquiesce  in  some  penalty  or  other 
should  it  so  happen,  as  the  seal  of  our  earnestness. 
We  must  not  suppose,  that  our  inferiors  are  with- 
out power  to  annoy  us,  because  they  are  inferior. 
We  depend  on  the  poor  as  well  as  on  the  rich.  Nor, 
by  inferiors,  do  I  mean  those  merely  who  are  in  a 
lower  rank  of  society.  Herod  was  St.  John's  infe- 
rior ;  the  greatest  king  is,  in  one  sense,  inferior  to 
God's  Ministers,  and  is  to  be  approached  by  them, 
with  all  honour  indeed  and  loyal  service,  but  with- 
out trepidation  of  mind  or  cowardice,  without  for- 
getting that  they  are  servants  of  the  Church,  gifted 
with  their  power  by  a  divine  appointment.  And 
what  is  true  even  in  the  instance  of  the  King  him- 
self is  much  more  applicable  in  the  case  of  the 
merely  wealthy  or  ennobled.  But  is  it  a  light  matter 


SoO  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST.  [Seum. 

to  reprove  such  men  ?  And  can  we  do  so  without 
the  risk  of  suffering  for  it  ?  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things,  without  the  guidance  and  strength  of 
Him  who  died  to  purchase  for  His  Church  this  high 
authority  ? 

Again,  parents  are  bound  to  rebuke  their  chil- 
dren ;  but  here  the  office  is  irksome  for  a  different 
reason.  It  is  misplaced  affection,  not  fear,  which 
interferes  here  with  the  performance  of  our  duty. 
And  besides,  parents  are  indolent  as  well  as  over- 
fond.  They  look  to  their  home  as  a  release  from 
the  world's  cares,  and  cannot  bear  to  make  duties  in 
a  quarter  where  they  would  find  a  recreation.  And 
they  have  their  preferences  and  partialities  about 
their  children ;  and  being  alternately  harsh  and 
weakly  indulgent,  are  not  respected  by  them,  even 
when  they  seasonably  rebuke  them. 

And  as  to  rebuke  those  who  are  inferior  to  us  in 
the  temporal  appointments  of  Providence,  is  a  se- 
rious work,  so  also,  much  more,  does  it  require  a 
ripeness  in  Christian  holiness  to  rebuke  our  equals 
suitably; — and  this,  first,  because  we  fear  their 
ridicule  and  censure ;  next,  because  the  failings  of 
our  equals  commonly  lie  in  the  same  line  as  our 
;   own,  and  every  considerate  person  is  aware,  that,  in 

I   rebuking  another,  he  is  binding  himself  to  a  strict 

j 

I   and  religious  life,  which  we  naturally  shrink  from 

I    doing.     Accordingly,    it   has    come   to   pass,    that 

Christians,  by  a  sort  of  tacit  agreement,  wink  at 

each  other's  faults,  and  keep  silence;  whereas,  if 


XXIV.]  REBUKING  SIN.  331 

each  of  us  forced  himself  to  make  his  neighbour 
sensible  when  he  did  wrong,  he  would  both  benefit 
another,  and  through  God's  blessing,  would  bind 
himself  also  to  a  more  consistent  profession.  Who 
can  say  how  much  harm  is  done  by  thus  counte- 
nancing the  imperfections  of  our  friends  and  equals  ? 
The  standard  of  Christian  morals  is  lowered;  the 
service  of  God  is  mixed  up  with  devotion  to  Mam- 
mon ;  and  thus  society  is  constantly  tending  to  a 
heathen  state.  And  this  culpable  toleration  of  vice 
is  sanctioned  by  the  manners  of  the  present  age, 
which  seems  to  consider  it  a  mark  of  good  breeding 
not  to  be  solicitous  about  the  faith  or  conduct  of 
those  around  us,  as  if  their  private  views  and  habits 
were  nothing  to  us ;  which  would  have  more  pre- 
tence of  truth  in  it,  were  they  merely  our  fellow- 
creatures,  but  is  evidently  false  in  the  case  of  those 
who  all  the  while  profess  to  be  Christians,  who  ima- 
gine that  they  gain  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel  by 
their  profession,  while  they  bring  scandal  on  it  by 
their  lives. 

Now,  if  it  be  asked,  what  rules  can  be  given  for 
rebuking  vice  ? — I  observe,  that,  as  on  the  one  hand 
to  perform  the  office  of  a  censor  requires  a  maturity 
and  consistency  of  principle  seen  and  acknowledged, 
so  is  it  also  the  necessary  result  of  possessing  it. 
They  who  reprove  with  the  greatest  propriety,  from 
their  weight  of  character,  are  generally  the  very 
men  who  ai-e  also  best  qualified  for  reproving.  To 
rebuke  well  is  a  gift  which  grows  with  the  need  of 


SS2  ST.  JOHN  BAPTIST.  (Seum. 

exercising  it.  Not  that  any  one  will  gain  it  with- 
out an  effort  on  his  part ;  he  must  overcome  false 
shame,  timidity,  and  undue  delicacy,  and  learn  to 
be  prompt  and  collected  in  withstanding  evil ;  but 
after  all,  his  mode  of  doing  it  will  depend  mainly 
on  his  general  character.  The  more  his  habitual 
temper  is  formed  after  the  law  of  Christ,  the  more 
discreet,  unexceptionable,  and  graceful  will  be  his 
censures,  the  more  difficult  to  escape  or  to  resist. 

What  I  mean  is  this  :  cultivate  in  your  general 
deportment  a  cheerful,  honest,  manly  temper ;  and 
you  will  find  fault  well,  because  you  will  do  so  in  a 
natural  way.  Aim  at  viewing  all  things  in  a  plain 
and  candid  light,  and  at  calling  them  by  their  right 
names.  Be  frank,  do  not  keep  your  notions  of  right 
and  wrong  to  yourselves,  nor,  on  some  conceit  that 
the  world  is  too  bad  to  be  taught  the  Truth,  suffer 
it  to  sin  in  word  or  deed  without  rebuke.  Do  not 
allow  friend  or  stranger  in  the  familiar  intercourse 
of  society  to  advance  false  opinions,  nor  shrink  from 
stating  your  own,  and  do  this  in  singleness  of  mind 
and  love.  Persons  are  to  be  found,  who  tell  their 
neighbours  of  their  faults  in  a  strangely  solemn 
way,  with  a  great  parade,  as  if  they  were  doing 
something  extraordinary ;  and  such  men,  not  only 
offend  those  whom  they  wish  to  set  right,  but  also 
foster  in  themselves  a  spirit  of  self-complacency. 
Such  a  mode  of  finding  fault  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  a  notion  that  they  themselves  are  far 
better  than  the  parties  they  blame ;   whereas  the 


XXIV.J  REBUKING  SIN.  333 

sinsfle-hearted  Christian  will  find  fault,  not  aus- 
terely  or  gloomily,  but  in  love;  not  stiffly,  but 
naturally,  gently,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  just 
as  he  would  tell  his  friend  of  some  obstacle  in  his 
path,  which  was  likely  to  throw  him  down,  but 
without  any  absurd  feeling  of  superiority  over  him, 
because  he  was  able  to  do  so.  His  feeling  is,  "  I 
have  done  a  good  office  to  you,  and  you  must  in 
turn  serve  me."  And  though  his  advice  be  not 
always  taken  as  he  meant  it,  yet  he  will  not  dwell 
on  the  pain  occasioned  to  himself  by  such  a  result 
of  his  interference ;  being  conscious,  that  in  truth 
there  ever  is  much  to  correct  in  his  mode  of  doing 
his  duty,  knowing  that  his  intention  was  good,  and 
being  determined  any  how  to  make  light  of  his 
failure,  except  so  far  as  to  be  more  cautious  in  future 
against  even  the  appearance  of  rudeness  or  intem- 
perance in  his  manner. 

These  are  a  few  suggestions  on  an  important  sub- 
ject. We  daily  influence  each  other  for  good  or 
evil;  let  us  not  be  the  occasion  of  misleading 
others  by  our  silence,  when  we  ought  to  speak. 
Recollect  St.  Paul's  words : — "  Be  not  partaker  of 
other  men's  sins :  keep  thyself  pure  \"      i  *  ^a  XS7^  "> 

'  1  Tim.  V.  22. 


SERMON    XXV. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  PETER  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY. 


Luke  vii.  28. 

I  say  unto  you,  Among  those  that  are  born  of  women  there  is 
not  a  greater  prophet  than  John  the  Baptist ;  but  he  that  is 
least  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  greater  than  he. 

St.  Peter's  day  suitably  follows  the  day  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist;  for  thus  we  have  a  striking 
memento  as  the  text  suggests,  of  the  especial  dig- 
nity of  the  Christian  Ministry  over  all  previous 
Ministries  which  Almighty  God  has  appointed. 
St.  John  was  "  much  more  than  a  Prophet ;"  he 
was  as  great  as  any  messenger  of  God  that  had 
ever  been  bom ;  yet  the  least  in  the  Kingdom  of 
heaven,  the  least  of  Christ's  Ministers,  was  greater 
than  he.  And  this,  I  observe,  is  a  reflection  espe- 
cially fitted  for  this  Festival,  because  the  Apostle 
Peter  is  taken  in  various  parts  of  the  Gospel,  as 
the  appropriate  type  and  representative  of  the 
Christian  ministry  \ 

'  Vide  Matt.  xvi.  18,  19.   Lukexxii.  29,  30.    Johnxxi.  15—17. 


Serm.  XXV.]        THE  CHRISTIAN  MLNISTRY.  335 

Now,  let  us,  consider,  in  what  the  peculiar  dig- 
nity of  the  Christian  Minister  consists.  Evidently 
in  this,  that  he  is  the  representative  of  Christ ;  for, 
as  Christ  is  infinitely  above  all  other  messengers 
from  God,  he  who  stands  in  His  stead,  must  be 
superior  beyond  compare,  to  all  Ministers  of 
religion,  whether  Prophets,  Priests,  Lawgivers, 
Judges,  or  Kings,  whom  Almighty  God  ever  com- 
missioned. Moses,  Aaron,  Samuel,  and  David, 
were  shadows  of  the  Saviour ;  but  the  Minister  of 
the  Gospel  is  His  present  substitute.  As  a  t}^e  or 
prophecy  of  Grace  is  less  than  a  pledge  and  means, 
as  a  Jevsdsh  sacrifice  is  less  than  a  Gospel  sacra- 
ment, so  are  Moses  and  Elias  less  by  oflfice  than 
the  representatives  of  Christ.  This,  I  consider  to 
be  evident,  as  soon  as  stated;  the  only  question 
being,  whether  there  is  reason  for  thinking,  that 
Christ  has,  in  matter  of  fact,  left  representatives 
behind  Him;  and  this,  I  proceed  to  show,  Scrip- 
ture enables  us  to  determine  in  the  aflfirmative. 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  as  we  all  know,  Christ 
chose  twelve  out  of  His  disciples,  whom  He  called 
Apostles,  to  be  His  representatives  even  during  His 
own  ministry.  And  He  gave  them  the  power  of 
doing  the  wonderful  works  which  He  did  Himself. 
Of  course  I  do  not  say  He  gave  them  equal  power  ; 
(God  forbid !)  but  He  gave  them  a  certain  suflficient 
portion  of  His  power.  "  He  gave  them  power," 
says  St.  Luke,  "  and  authority  over  all  devils,  and 
to  cure  diseases ;  and  he  sent  them  to  preach  the 


S36  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

Kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick '."  And 
He  expressly  made  them  his  substitutes  to  the 
world  at  large ;  so  that  to  receive  them  was  to 
y-  receive  Himself.  "  He  that  receiveth  you,  receiv- 
eth  Me  ^"  Such  was  their  principal  power  before 
His  passion,  similar  to  that  which  He  principally 
exercised,  viz.  the  commission  to  preach  and  to 
perform  bodily  cures.  But  when  He  had  wrought 
out  the  Atonement  for  human  sin  upon  the  Cross, 
and  purchased  for  man  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
then  He  gave  them  a  higher  commission ;  and 
still,  be  it  observed,  parallel  to  that  which  He 
Himself  then  assumed.  ^' As  My  Father  hath  sent 
Me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  He  had  said 
this.  He  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them. 
Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost.  Whosesoever  sins  ye 
remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them ;  and  whose- 
soever sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained  \"  Here 
then  the  Apostles  became  Christ's  representatives 
in  the  power  of  His  Spirit,  for  the  remission  of  sins, 
as  before  they  were  His  representatives  as  regards 
miraculous  cures,  and  preaching  His  Kingdom. 

The  following  texts  supply  additional  evidence 
that  the  Apostles  were  commissioned  in  Christ's 
stead,  and  inform  us  likewise  in  detail  of  some  of 
the  particular  offices  included  in  their  commission. 
"  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the  Ministers 
of  Christ,  and  Stewards  of  the  Mysteries  of  God." 

1  Luke  ix.  1,2.  '  Matt.  i.  40.  *  John  xx.  21—23. 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  337 

"  Ye  received  me  as  an  A?igel"  or  heavenly  Mes- 
senger "  of  God,  even  a.s  Christ  Jesm.'''  "  We  «re 
Ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech 
you  by  us ;  we  pray  you  in  Chrisfs  stead,  be  ye 
reconciled  to  God '." 

The  Apostles  then,  standing  in  Christ's  place, 
were  consequently  exalted  by  office  far  above  any 
divine  Messengers  before  them.  We  come  to  the 
same  conclusion  from  considering  the  sacred  trea- 
sures committed  to  their  custody,  which  (not  to 
mention  their  miraculous  powers,  which  is  beside 
our  present  purpose,)  were  those  peculiar  spiritual 
blessings  which  flow  from  Christ  as  a  Saviour,  as  a 
Prophet,  Priest,  and  King. 

These  blessings  are  commonly  designated  in 
Scripture  as  "  the  Spirit,"  or  "  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  John  the  Baptist  said  of  himself  and 
Christ ;  "  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  re- 
pentance ;  but  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  with  fire  I"  In  this  respect,  Christ's 
Ministrations  were  above  all  that  had  ever  been 
before  Him,  in  bringing  with  them  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  that  one  gift,  one,  yet  multi- 
form, sevenfold  in  its  operation,  in  which  all  spi- 
ritual blessedness  is  included.  Accordingly,  our 
Lord  was  solemnly  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
Himself,  as  an  initiation  into  His  Ministerial 
office.     He  was  manifested  as  receiving,  that  He 

1  1  Cor.  iv.  1.  Gal.  iv.  14.  2  Cor.  v.  20.  '  Matt.  iii.  II. 

VOL.  II.  Z 


338  ST.  PETER.  {Serm. 

might  be  believed  on  as  giving.  He  was  thus  com- 
missioned, according  to  the  Prophet,  "  to  preach 
good  tidings,"  "  to  bind  up,"  "  to  give  the  oil  of 
joy  for  mourning."  Therefore,  in  like  manner,  the 
Apostles  also  were  anointed  with  the  same  heavenly 
gift  for  the  same  Ministerial  office.  "  He  breathed 
on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Such  as  was  the  consecration  of  the 
Master,  such  was  that  of  the  Disciples ;  and  such 
as  His,  were  the  offices  to  which  they  were  thereby 
admitted. 

Christ  is  a  Prophet,  as,  authoritatively  revealing 
the  will  of  God  and  the  Gospel  of  grace.  So  also 
were  the  Apostles ;  "  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
Me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  Me ;  and 
he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him  that  sent  Me ;" 
"  He  that  despiseth,  despiseth  not  man,  but  God, 
who  hath  also  given  unto  us  His  Holy  Spirit  \" 

Christ  is  a  Priest,  as  forgiving  sin,  and  impart- 
ing other  needful  divine  gifts.  The  Apostles,  too, 
had  this  power ;  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they 
are  remitted  unto  them ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye 
retain,  they  are  retained."  "  Let  a  man  so  account 
of  us  as  .  .  .  Stewards  of  the  Mysteries  of  God." 

Christ  is  a  King,  as  ruling  the  Church ;  and  the 
Apostles  rule  it  in  His  stead.  "  I  appoint  unto  you 
a  Kingdom,  as  My  Father  hath  appointed  unto 
Me  ;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  My  table  in  My 

1  Luke  X.  16.      1  Thes.  iv.  8. 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  339 

Kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel  ^" 

The  gift,  or  office  cannot  be  named,  which  be- 
longs to  our  Lord  as  the  Christ,  which  He  did  not 
in  its  degree  transfer  to  His  Apostles  by  the  com- 
munication of  that  Spirit  through  which  He  Him- 
self wrought ;  one  of  course  excepted,  the  One  great 
work,  which  none  else  in  the  whole  world  could  sus- 
tain, of  being  the  Atoning  Sacrifice  for  all  mankind. 
So  far  no  one  can  take  His  place,  and  "  His  glory 
He  does  not  give  to  another."  His  death  upon  the 
cross  is  the  sole  Meritorious  Cause,  the  sole  Source  of 
spiritual  blessing  to  our  guilty  race  ;  but  as  to  those 
offices  and  gifts,  which  flow  from  this  Atonement, 
preaching,  teaching,  reconciling,  absolving,  censur- 
ing, dispensing  grace,  wtuling,  ordaining,  these  all 
are  included  in  the  Apostolic  Commission,  which  is 
instrumental  and  representative  in  His  absence. 
"  As  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  so  send  I  you." 
His  gifts  are  not  confined  to  Himself.  "  The  whole 
house  is  filled  with  the  odour  of  the  ointment." 

This  being  granted,  however,  as  regards  the 
Apostles  themselves,  some  one  may  be  disposed 
to  inquire,  whether  their  triple  office  has  de- 
scended to  Christian  Ministers  after  them.  I  say 
their  triple  office,  for  few  persons  will  deny  that 
some  portion  of  their  commission  still  remains 
among  us.     The  notion  that  there  is  no  divine  ap- 

'  Luke  xxi.  29,  30. 

z2 


340  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

pointment  of  one  man  above  another  for  Ministerial 
duties  is  not  a  common  one,  and  we  need  not  refute 
it.  But  it  is  very  common  for  men  to  believe  only 
so  far  as  they  can  see  and  understand ;  and,  be- 
cause they  are  witnesses  of  the  process  and  effects 
of  instructing  and  ruling,  and  not  of  (what  may 
be  called)  "  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,"  to 
accept  Christ's  Ministers  as  representatives  of  His 
Prophetic  and  Regal,  not  of  His  Priestly  authority. 
Assuming  then  their  claim  to  inherit  two  portions 
of  His  Anointing,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  the 
question  of  their  possessing  the  third  likewise  :  not 
however  with  a  view  of  proving  it,  but  rather  of 
removing  such  antecedent  difficulties  as  are  likely 
to  prejudice  the  mind  against  it. 

By  a  Priest,  in  a  Christian  sense,  is  meant  an 
appointed  channel  by  which  the  peculiar  Gospel 
blessings  are  conveyed  to  mankind,  one  who  has 
power  to  apply  to  individuals  those  gifts  which 
Christ  has  promised  us  generally  as  the  fruit  of 
His  mediation.  This  power  was  possessed  by  the 
Apostles ;  I  am  now  to  show  that  it  is  possessed  by 
their  Successors  likewise. 

1.  Now,  first,  that  there  is  a  strong  line  of  dis- 
tinction between  the  Apostles  and  other  Christian 
Ministers,  I  readily  grant;  nay,  rather  I  would 
maintain  it  to  be  so  clearly  marked  that  there  is 
no  possibility  of  confusing  together  those  respects 
in  which  they  resemble  with  those  in  which  they 
differ  from  their   brethren.      The  Apostles    were, 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  341 

not  only  Ministers  of  Christ,  but  first  founders  of 
His  Church ;  and  their  gifts  and  offices,  so  far  forth 
as  they  had  reference  to  this  part  of  their  com- 
mission, doubtless  were  but  occasional  and  extra- 
ordinary, and  ended  with  themselves.  They  were 
organs  of  Revelation,  inspired  Teachers,  in  some 
respects  infallible,  gifted  with  divers  tongues,  work- 
ers of  miracles ;  and  none  but  they  are  such.  The 
duration  of  any  gift  depends  upon  the  need  which 
it  supplies ;  that  which  has  answered  its  purpose 
ends,  that  which  is  still  necessary  is  graciously  con- 
tinued. Such  at  least  seems  to  be  the  rule  of  a 
Merciful  Providence.  Therefore  it  is,  that  the 
Christian  Ministry  still  includes  in  it  the  office  of 
teaching,  for  education  is  necessary  for  every  soul 
born  into  the  world ;  and  the  office  of  governing, 
for  "  decency  and  order"  are  still  necessary  for  the 
quiet  and  union  of  the  Christian  brotherhood. 
And,  for  the  same  reason,  it  is  natural  at  first  sight 
to  suppose,  that  the  office  of  applying  the  gifts  of 
grace  should  be  continued  also,  while  there  is  guilt 
to  be  washed  away,  sinners  to  be  reconciled,  believers 
to  be  strengthened,  matured,  comforted.  What 
warrant  have  we  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  for 
making  any  distinction  between  the  ministry  of 
teaching  and  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  ?  if  one 
is  still  committed  to  us,  why  not  the  other  also  ? 

And  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  only  real  ante- 
cedent difficulty  which  attaches  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Christian  Priesthood,  is  obviated  by  Scripture 


342  ST.  PETER.  [Sekm. 

itself.  It  might  be  thought  that  the  power  of  re- 
mitting and  retaining  sins  was  too  great  to  be  given 
to  sinful  man  over  his  fellows ;  but  in  matter  of 
fact  it  was  committed  to  the  Apostles  without  re- 
striction, though  they  were  not  infallible  in  what 
they  did.  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are 
remitted  unto  them ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  re- 
tain, they  are  retained."  The  grant  was  in  the  very 
form  of  it  unconditional,  and  left  to  their  Christian 
discretion.  What  has  once  been  given,  may^  be 
continued.  I  consider  this  remark  to  be  of  weight 
in  a  case  like  the  present,  where  the  very  nature  of 
the  professed  gift  is  the  only  considerable  reason 
against  the  fact  of  its  bestowal. 

2.  But  all  this  is  on  the  bare  antecedent  view  of 
the  case.  In  fact,  our  Lord  Himself  has  decided 
the  question,  by  declaring  that  His  presence,  by 
means  of  His  Apostles,  should  be  with  the  Church 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  He  promised  this  on  the 
solemn  occasion  of  His  leaving  them ;  He  declared 
it  when  He  bade  them  make  converts,  baptize,  and 
teach.  As  well  may  we  doubt  whether  it  is  our 
duty  to  preach  and  proselyte,  and  prepare  men  for 
Heaven,  as  that  His  Apostolic  Presence  is  with  us 
for  those  purposes.  His  words  then  at  first  sight 
even  go  to  include  all  the  gifts  vouchsafed  to  His 
first  Ministers ;  far  from  having  a  scanty  grant  of 
them,  so  large  is  the  promise,  that  we  are  obliged 
to  find  out  reasons  to  justify  us  in  considering  the 
Successors   of  the  Apostles   in  any   respects  less 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  343 

favoured  than  themselves.  Such  reasorfs  we  know 
are  to  be  found,  and  lead  us  to  distinguish  the  ex- 
traordinary gifts  from  the  ordinary,  a  distinction 
which  the  event  justifies ;  but  what  is  there  either 
in  Scripture  or  in  Church  History  to  make  us  place 
the  commission  of  reconciliation  among  those  which 
are  extraordinary  ? 

3.  In  the  next  place,  it  is  deserving  of  notice 
that  this  distincion  between  ordinary  and  extraor- 
dinary gifts,  is  really  made  in  Scripture  itself,  and 
that  among  the  extraordinary  there  is  no  mention 
made  of  the  sacerdotal  power.  No  one  can  doubt, 
that  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  formal  inaugura- 
tion of  the  Apostles  took  place  into  their  higli  and 
singular  office  of  building  the  Church  of  Christ. 
They  were  "  wise  Master-builders,  according  to  the 
grace  given  them ;"  and  that  grace  was  extraordi- 
nary. However,  among  those  gifts,  "  tongues  and 
visions,  prophecies  and  wonders,"  their  priestly 
power  is  not  enumerated.  On  the  contrary,  that 
power  had  been  previously  conferred,  according  to 
the  passage  already  cited,  when  Christ  breathed  on 
them,  and  gave  them,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
authority  to  remit  and  retain  sins  '.     And  further, 

The  following  passage  supplies  a  corroboration  of  the 
above  argument,  and  carries  it  on  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Apos- 
tolical Succession  :— "  The  very  first  act  of  the  Apostles,  after 
Christ  was  gone  out  of  their  sight,  was  the  ordination  of  Mat- 
thias in  the  room  of  the  traitor  Judas.  That  ordination  is 
related  very  minutely.     Every  particular  of  it  is  full  of  instruc- 


SU  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

I   would  remind   you,   that    this    is   certainly    our 
Church's  deliberate  view  of  the  subject;  for  she 

tion ;  but  at  present  I  wish  to  draw  attention  to  one  circum- 
stance more  especially  :  namely,  the  time  when  it  occurred.  It 
was  contrived  (if  one  may  say  so)  exactly  to  fall  within  the  very 
short  interval  which  elapsed  between  the  departure  of  our  Lord 
and  the  arrival  of  the  Comforter  in  His  place :  on  that  '  little 
while,'  during  which  the  church  was  comparatively  left  alone  in 
the  world.  Then  it  was  that  St.  Peter  rose  and  declared  with 
authority,  that  the  time  was  come  for  supplying  the  vacancy 
which  Judas  had  made.  *  One,'  said  he,  '  must  be  ordained  ;' 
and  without  delay  they  proceeded  to  the  ordination.  Of  course, 
St.  Peter  must  have  had  from  our  Lord  express  authority  for 
this  step.  Otherwise  it  would  seem  most  natural  to  defer  a 
transaction  so  important  until  the  unerring  Guide,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  should  have  come  among  them,  as  they  knew  He  would 
in  a  few  days.  On  the  other  hand,  since  the  Apostles  were 
eminently  Apostles  of  our  Incarnate  Lord,  since  their  very 
being,  as  Apostles,  depended  entirely  on  their  personal  mission 
from  Him,  (which  is  the  reason  why  catalogues  are  given  of 
them,  with  such  scrupulous  care,  in  so  many  of  the  holy  books)  : 
in  that  regard  one  should  naturally  have  expected  that  He 
Himself  before  His  departure  would  have  supplied  the  vacancy 
by  personal  designation.  But  we  see  it  was  not  His  pleasure 
to  do  so.  As  the  Apostles  afterwards  brought  on  the  ordina- 
tion sooner,  so  He  had  deferred  it  longer  than  might  have  been 
expected.  Both  ways  it  should  seem  as  if  there  were  a  purpose 
of  bringing  the  event  within  those  ten  days,  during  which,  as  I 
said,  the  church  was  left  to  herself;  left  to  exercise  her  faith 
and  hope,  much  as  Christians  are  left  now,  without  any  miracu- 
lous aid  or  extraordinary  illumination  from  above.  Then,  at  that 
moment  of  the  New  Testament  history,  in  which  the  circum- 
stances of  believers  corresponded  most  nearly  to  what  they  had 
been  since  miracles  and  inspiration  ceased, — ^just  at  that  time 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  345 

expressly  puts  into  the  Bishop's  mouth  at  ordi- 
nation the  very  words  here  used  by  our  Saviour 
to  His  Apostles.  "  Receive  the  Holy  Ghost ;" 
"  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  to 
them ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are 
retained ;"  words,  which  it  were  inexpressibly  pro- 
fane for  man  to  use  to  man,  except  by  a  plain 
divine  commission  to  do  so. 

4.  But  again,  has  not  the  Gospel  Sacraments  ? 
and  have  not  Sacraments,  as  pledges  and  means 
of  grace,  a  priestly  nature  ?  If  so,  the  question  of 
the  existence  of  a  Christian  Priesthood,  is  narrowed 
at  once  to  the  simple  question,  whether  or  not  it  is 
probable  that  so  precious  an  ordinance  as  a  channel 
of  grace  would  be  committed  by  Providence  to  the 
custody  of  certain  guardians.  The  tendency  of 
opinions  at  this  day  is  to  believe  that  nothing  more 
is  necessary  for  acceptance  than  faith  in  God's  pro- 
mise of  mercy ;  whereas  it  is  certain  from  Scripture, 
that  the  gift  of  reconciliation  is  not  conveyed  to 
individuals  except  through  appointed  ordinances. 
Christ  has  interposed  a  something  between  Himself 

it  pleased  our  Lord  that  a  fresh  Apostle  should  be  consecrated, 
with  authority  and  commission  as  ample  as  the  former  enjoyed. 
In  a  word,  it  was  His  will  that  the  eleven  Disciples  alone,  not 
Himself  personally,  should  name  the  successor  of  Judas  ;  and 
that  they  chose  the  right  person,  He  gave  testimony  very  soon 
after,  by  sending  His  Holy  Spirit  on  St.  Matthias,  as  richly  as 
on  St.  John,  St.  James,  or  St.  Peter." — Tracts  for  the  Times, 
vol.  ii.  No.  52. 


346  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

and  the  soul ;  and  if  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
liberty  of  the  Gospel  that  a  Sacrament  should  in- 
terfere, there  is  no  antecedent  inconsistency  in  a 
keeper  of  the  Sacrament  attending  upon  it.  More- 
over, the  very  circumstance  that  a  standing  Minis- 
try has  existed  from  the  first,  leads  on  to  the 
inference  that  that  Ministry  was  intended  to  take 
charge  of  the  Sacraments ;  and  thus  the  facts  of  the 
case  suggest  an  interpretation  of  our  Lord's  words, 
when  He  committed  to  St.  Peter  "  the  keys  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

I  would  have  this  Scripture  truth  considered  at- 
tentively ;  viz.  that  Sacraments  are  the  channels  of 
the  peculiar  Christian  privileges,  and  not  merely  (as 
many  men  think,  and  as  the  rite  of  Confirmation 
really  is,)  seals  of  the  covenant.  A  man  may  object 
indeed,  that  in  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
nothing  is  said  about  channels  and  instruments;  that 
faith  is  represented  as  the  sole  medium  of  justifica- 
tion. But  I  will  refer  him  by  way  of  reply,  to  the 
same  Apostle's  speech  to  Festus  and  Agrippa,  where 
he  describes  Christ  as  saying  to  him  on  his  mira- 
culous conversion.  "  Rise  and  stand  upon  thy 
feet;  for  I  have  appeared  unto  thee  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  make  thee  a  Minister  and  a  Witness," 
sending  him  forth,  as  it  might  appear,  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  without  instrumentality  of  Ordinance  or 
Minister.  Had  we  but  this  account  of  his  conver- 
sion, who  would  not  have  supposed,  that  he  who  was 
"  to  open  men's  eyes,  and  turn  them  from  darkness 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  347 

to  light,"  had  been  pardoned  and  accepted  at  once 
upon  his  faith,  without  rite  or  form  ?  Yet  from  other 
parts  of  the  history,  we  learn  what  is  here  omitted, 
viz.  that  an  especial  revelation  was  made  to  Ana- 
nias, lest  Saul  should  go  without  baptism;  and 
that,  so  far  from  his  being  justified  immediately  on 
his  faith,  he  was  bid  not  to  tarry,  but  "  to  arise  and 
be  baptized,  and  to  wash  away  his  si?is,  calling  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord  \"  So  dangerous  is  it  to 
attempt  to  prove  a  negative  from  insulated  passages 
of  Scripture. 

Here  then  we  have  a  clear  instance  in  St.  Paul's 
own  case,  that  there  are  priestly  Services  between 
the  soul  and  God,  even  under  the  Gospel;  that 
though  Christ  has  purchased  inestimable  blessings 
for  our  race,  yet  that  it  is  still  necessary  ever  to 
apply  them  to  individuals  by  visible  means ;  and  if 
so,  I  confess,  that  to  me  at  least  it  seems  more 
likely  antecedently,  that  such  services  should  have, 
than  that  they  should  lack,  an  appropriate  minister. 
But  here  again  we  are  not  left  to  mere  conjecture, 
as  I  proceed  to  show. 

5.  You  well  know  that  the  benefits  of  the  Atone- 
ment are  frequently  represented  in  Scripture  under 
the  figure  of  spiritual  food,  bread  from  heaven,  the 
water  that  never  faileth,  and  in  more  sacred  lan- 
guage, as  the  communion  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
the  Divine  Sacrifice.     Now,  this  special  Christian 

'  Acts  xxvi.  16 — 18.  xxii.  16.  ix.  17.  Vid.  also  xiii.  2,  3. 
2 


348  ST.  PETER.  [Sfrm. 

benefit  is  there  connected,  as  on  the  one  hand  with 
an  outward  rite,  so  on  the  other  with  certain 
appointed  Dispensers.  So  that  the  very  context  of 
Scripture  leads  us  on  from  the  notion  of  a  priestly 
service  to  that  of  a  priesthood. 

"  Who  then  is  that  faithful  and  wise  Steward^'' 
says  Christ,  "  whom  his  Lord  shall  make  ruler  over 
His  household,  to  give  them  their  'portion  of  food  in 
due  season  ?  Blessed  is  that  servant  whom  his  Lord, 
when  he  cometh,  shall  find  so  doing'."  Now,  I 
infer  from  this  passage ;  first,  that  there  are,  under 
the  Gospel,  especial  Dispensers  of  the  Christian's 
spiritual  food,  in  other  words  (if  the  word  "  food'*" 
may  be  interpreted  from  the  parallel  of  the  sixth 
chapter  of  St.  John,)  Dispensers  of  invisible  grace, 
or  Priests ; — next,  that  they  are  to  continue  to  the 
Church  in  every  age  till  the  end,  for  it  is  said, 
"  Blessed  is  he,  whom  his  Lord,  when  He  cometh, 
shall  find  so  doing ;" — further,  that  the  Minister 
mentioned  is  also  "  Ruler  over  His  household,"  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Apostles,  uniting  the  Regal  with 
the  Sacerdotal  office ;  —  lastly,  the  word  "  Stew- 
ard," which  incidentally  occurs  in  the  passage,  a 
title  applied  by  St.  Paul  to  the  Apostles,  affords  an 
additional  reason  for  supposing  that  other  like  titles, 
such  as  "Ambassadors  of  Christ,"  given  to  the 
Apostles,  do  also  belong  in  a  true  and  sufficient 
sense  to  their  Successors. 


'  Luke  xii.  42.  *  (riTOnirpioy. 


^"^ 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  3i9 

6.  These  considerations  in  favour  of  the  existence 
of  a  Christian  Priesthood,  are  strengthened  by  ob- 
serving that  the  office  of  intercession,  which  though 
not  a  peculiarity,  is  ever  characteristic  of  the  Priestly 
Order,  is  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  a  sort  of  prero- 
gative of  the  Gospel  Ministry.    For  instance,  Isaiah, 
speaking   of  Christian   times,    says,   "  I  have   set 
watchmen  upon  thy  walls,  O  Jerusalem,  which  shall 
never  hold  their  peace  day  nor  night.     Ye  that 
make  mention  of  the  Lord,  keep  not  silence ;  and 
give  Him  no  rest,  till  He  establish,  and  till  He 
make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth  ^"  In  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  we  find  Christ's  ministers  engaged 
in  this  sacred  service,  according  to  the  prophecy. 
"  There  were  in  the  Church  that  was  at  Antioch 
certain    prophets  and    teachers,  as   Barnabas,  and 
Simeon  called  Niger,  and  Lucius  of  Cyrene,  and 
Manaen,  foster-brother  to  Herod  the  Tetrarch,  and 
Saul.    As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted  ^," 
the  Holy  Ghost  separated  two  of  them  for  His  work. 
This  "  ministering"  to  the  Lord  with  fasting  was  surely  i^  S\.^u>vyj- 
some  solemn  intercessory  service.     And  this  agrees 
with  a  passage  in  St.  James's  Epistle,  which  seems 
to  invest  the  Elders  of  the  Church  with  this  same 
privilege  of  the  priesthood.     "  Is  any  sick  among 
you  ?     Let  him  call  for  the  Elders  of  the  Church, 
and  let  them  pray  over   him,    (not   pray  with  him 
merely,)  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  the  jyrayei-  of  faith  (not  the  oil  merely,) 

1  Is.  Ixii.  6,  7.  »  Actsxiii.  1,  2. 


350  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
up."  In  like  manner  St.  Paul  speaks  of  Epaphras 
as  "  our  dear  fellow-servant,  who  is  for  you,"  that 
is,  for  the  Colossians  to  whom  he  is  writing,  "  a 
faithful  minister  of  Christ."  Presently  he  explains 
what  was  the  service  which  Epaphras  did  for  them: 
"  always  labouring  fermntly  fm^  you  in  pimyer,  that 
ye  may  stand  perfect  and  complete  in  all  the  will 
of  God  V 

7.  We  may  end  these  remarks  by  recurring  to  the 
instances  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  the  Baptist; 
who,  as  types  of  God's  ordained  servants,  before 
and  after  His  Son's  coming,  may  serve  to  explain 
the  office  of  ordinary  Christian  Ministers.  Even 
the  lowest  of  them  is  "  greater  than  John."  Now, 
what  was  it  that  he  wanted  ?  Was  it  the  knowledge 
of  Gospel  doctrine  f  No  surely ;  no  words  can  be 
clearer  than  his  concerning  the  New  Covenant. 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world."  "  He  that  cometh  from  above, 
is  above  all.  .  .  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh 
the  words  of  God,  for  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by 
measure  unto  Him.  The  Father  loveth  the  Son, 
and  hath  given  all  things  into  His  hand.  He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life,  and  he 
that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him  I"  Therefore,  the 
Baptist  lacked  not  the  full  Christian  doctrine ;  what 

»  James  v.  14,  15.     Col.  i.  7.  iv.  12. 
'  John  i.  29.  iii.  31— 36. 


XXV]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  351 

lie  did  lack,  was  (as  he  says  himself)  the  Baptism  of 
the  Spirit^  conveying  a  commission  from  Christ  the 
Saviom",  in  all  His  manifold  gifts,  ordinary  and  ex- 
traordinary, Regal  and  Sacerdotal.  John  was  not 
inferior  to  us  Gospel  Ministers  in  knowledge,  but  in 
power. 

On  the  other  hand,  if,  as  I  have  made  appear,  St. 
Peter's  ministerial  office  continues  as  regards  ordi- 
nary purposes,  in  the  persons  of  those  who  come 
after  him,  we  are  bound  to  understand  our  Lord's 
blessing,  pronounced  in  the  first  instance  upon  him, 
as  descending  in  due  measure  on  the  least  of  us 
His  Ministers  who  "  keep  the  faith,"  Peter  being 
but  the  representative  and  type  of  them  all. 
"Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona;  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  My 
Father,  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  also  unto 
thee,  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the 
keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ;  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven, 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven."  August  and  glorious  promise ! 
Can  it  be,  that  it  is  all  expended  on  St.  Peter,  how 
great  soever  that  noble  Apostle  ?  Is  it  inserted  in 
the  "  everlasting  Gospel,"  to  witness  merely  of  one 
long  since  departed  ?  Is  it  the  practice  of  the  in- 
spired word  to  exalt  individuals?  Does  not  the 
very  exuberance   of  the  blessing  resist  any  such 


352  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

niggardly  use  of  it  ?  Does  it  not  flow  over  in  spite 
of  us,  till  our  unbelief  is  vanquished  by  the  graci- 
ousness  of  Him  who  spoke  it  ?  Is  it,  in  short,  any 
thing  but  the  prejudices  of  education,  which  prevent 
so  many  of  us  from  receiving  it  in  that  fulness  of 
grace  in  which  it  was  poured  out  ? 

I  say  our  prejudices, — for  these  surely  are  the 
cause  of  our  inconsistency  in  faith  ;  adopting,  as  we 
do,  a  rule  of  Scripture  interpretation,  which  carries 
us  a  certain  way,  and  stops  short  of  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  and  should  teach  us  nothing,  or 
a  great  deal  more.  If  the  promises  to  Christ's 
Apostles  are  not  fulfilled  in  the  Church  for  ever 
after,  why  should  the  blessing  attaching  to  the  Sa- 
craments extend  after  the  first  age  ?  Why  should 
the  Lord's  Supper  be  now  the  Communion  of  the 
Lord's  Body  and  Blood?  Why  should  Baptism 
convey  spiritual  privileges  ?  Wliy  should  any  part 
of  Scripture  afford  permanent  instruction?  Why 
should  the  way  of  life  be  any  longer  narrow  ?  Why 
should  the  burden  of  the  Cross  be  necessary  for 
every  disciple  of  Christ  ?  Why  should  the  Spirit  of 
adoption  any  longer  be  promised  us?  Why  should 
separation  fi-om  the  world  be  now  a  duty  ?  Happy 
indeed  it  is  for  men  that  they  are  inconsistent ;  for 
then,  though  they  lose  some  part  of  a  Christian's 
faith,  at  least  they  keep  a  portion.  This  will 
happen  in  quiet  times,  and  in  the  case  of  those 
who  are  of  mature  years,  and  whose  minds  have 
been  long  made  up  on  the  subject  of  religion.     But 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  S53 

should  a  time  of  controversy  arise,  then  such  in- 
consistencies become  of  fearful  moment  as  regards 
the  multitude  called  Christian,  who  have  not  any 
decided  convictions  to  rest  upon.  Inconsistency  of 
creed  is  sure  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  intellect, 
unless  habit  has  reconciled  the  heart  to  it.  There- 
fore, in  a  speculative  age,  such  as  our  own,  a  reli- 
gious education  which  involves  such  inconsistency, 
is  most  dangerous  to  the  unformed  Christian,  who 
will  set  straight  his  traditionary  creed  by  unlearn- 
ing the  portion  of  truth  it  contains,  rather  than  by 
adding  that  in  which  it  is  deficient.  Hence,  the 
lamentable  spectacle,  so  commonly  seen,  of  men, 
who  deny  the  Apostolic  commission  proceeding  to 
desrrade  the  Eucharist  from  a  Sacrament  to  a  bare 
commemorative  rite ;  or  to  make  Baptism  such  a 
mere  outward  form,  and  sign  of  profession,  as  it 
would  be  childish  or  fanciful  to  revere.  And  rea- 
sonably; for  they  who  think  it  superstitious  to 
believe  that  particular  persons  are  channels  of 
grace,  are  but  consistent  in  denying  virtue  to  par- 
ticular ordinances.  Nor  do  they  stop  even  here ; 
for,  denying  the  grace  of  baptism,  they  proceed  to 
deny  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  for  which  that 
grace  is  the  remedy  \  Further,  denying  the  doc- 
trine of  original   sin,  they  necessarily  impair  the 

'  E.  g.  A  Dissenting  Catechism  has  lately  been  published  in 
the  country  for  popular  use,  in  which  the  doctrine  of  original 
sin  is  denied,  by  way  of  meeting  the  charge  of  cruelty  towards 
children,  as  involved  in  the  omission  of  infant  baptism. 
VOL.  II.  A  a 


354  ST.  PETER.  [Serm. 

doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  and  so  prepare  a  way 
for  the  denial  of  our  Lord's  divinity.     Again,  de- 
nying the  power  of  the  Sacraments  on  the  ground 
of  its  mysteriousness,  demanding  from  the  very  texts 
of  Scripture  the  fullest  proof  of  it  conceivable,  and 
thinking  little  of  the  blessedness  of  "  not  seeing, 
and  yet  believing,"  they  naturally  proceed  to  object 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as  obstructing  and 
obscuring  the  simplicity  (as  they  consider  it,)  of  the 
Gospel,  and  but  indirectly  deducible  from  the  ex- 
tant documents  of  inspiration.     Lastly,  after  they 
have  thus  divested  the  divine  remedies  of  sin,  and 
the   treatment   necessary  for  the   sinner,   of  their 
solemnity  and  awe,  having  made  the  whole  scheme 
of  salvation  of  as  intelligible  and  ordinary  a  charac- 
ter as  the  repair  of  any  accident  in  the  works  of 
man,  having   robbed   Faith   of  its   mysteries,  the 
Sacraments  of  their  virtue,  the  Priesthood  of  its 
commission,  no  wonder  that  sin  itself  is  soon  con- 
sidered a  venial  matter,  moral  evil  as  a  mere  im- 
perfection, man  as  involved  in  no  great  peril  or 
misery,  his  duties  of  no  very  arduous  or  anxious 
nature.     In  a  word,  religion,  as  such,  is  in  the  way 
to  disappear  from  the  mind  altogether ;  and  in  its 
stead  a  mere  cold  worldly  morality,  a  decent  regard 
to  the  claims  of  society,  a  cultivation  of  the  bene- 
volent affections,  and  a  gentleness  and  polish  of  ex- 
ternal deportment,  will  be  supposed  to  constitute 
the  entire  duties  of  that  being,  who  is  conceived  in 
sin  and  the  child  of  wratli,  is  redeemed  by  the  pre- 


XXV.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  355 

cious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  is  born  again  and  sus- 
tained by  the  Spirit  through  the  invisible  strength 
of  Sacraments,  and  called,  through  self-denial  and 
sanctification  of  the  inward  man,  to  the  Eternal 
Presence  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
Such  is  the  course  and  the  issue  of  unbelief,  though 
besrinnins:  in  what  the  world  calls  trifles.  Beware 
then,  O  my  Brethren,  of  entering  a  way  which 
leads  to  death.  Fear  to  question  what  Scripture 
says  of  the  Ministers  of  Christ,  lest  the  same  per- 
verse spirit  lead  you  on  to  question  its  doctrine 
about  Himself  and  his  Father.  "  Little  children, 
it  is  the  last  time ;  and,  as  ye  have  heard  that 
Antichrist  shall  come,  even  now  are  there  many 
Antichrists  .  .  .  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they 
were  not  of  us  \"  "  Ye  shall  know  them  by  their 
fruits  ^"  If  any  man  come  to  you,  bringing  any 
scoff  against  the  power  of  Christ's  Ministers,  ask 
him  what  he  holds  concerning  the  Sacraments,  or 
concerning  the  Blessed  Trinity ;  look  narrowly  after 
his  belief  as  regards  the  Atonement,  or  Original 
Sin.  Ascertain  whether  he  holds  with  the  Church's 
doctrine  in  these  points ;  see  to  it  whether  at  very 
best  he  does  not  try  to  evade  the  question,  has 
recourse  to  explanations,  or  professes  to  have  no 
opinion  at  all  upon  it.  Look  to  these  things,  that 
you  may  see  whither  you  are  invited.  Be  not 
robbed  of  your  faith  blindfold.     Do  what  you  do 

'  1  John  ii.  18,  19.  »  Matt.  vii.  16. 

Aa  2 


356  ST.  PETER.  [Serm.  XXV. 

with  a  clear  understanding  of  the  consequences. 
And  if  the  arguments  which  he  uses  against  you 
tend  to  show  that  your  present  set  of  opinions  is  in 
some  measure  inconsistent,  and  force  you  to  see  in 
Scripture  more  than  you  do  at  present,  or  else  less, 
be  not  afraid  to  add  to  it,  rather  than  to  detract 
from  it.  Be  quite  sure  that,  go  as  far  as  you  may, 
you  will  never,  through  God's  grace,  be  led  to  see 
more  in  it  than  the  early  Christians  saw;  that, 
however  you  enlarge  your  creed,  you  will  but  carry 
yourselves  on  to  Apostolic  perfection,  equally  re- 
moved from  the  extremes  of  Popish  irreverence 
and  of  Socinian  unbelief,  neither  intruding  into 
things  not  seen  as  yet,  nor  denying  what  you 
cannot  see  K 

*  This  Sermon  was  designed  for  publication  before  the  Author 
had  seen  Dr.  Arnold's  third  volume  of  Sermons. 

fat3*»'^   ?h^«jA.  lit-  /iW-Z-iw^i 


SERMON    XXVI. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  JAMES  THE  APOSTLE. 
HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY. 


Matt.  xx.  23. 

To  sit  on  My  right  hand  and  on  My  left  is  not  Mine  to  give  ;  but 
it  shall  be  given  to  them  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  My  Father. 

In  these  words  to  which  the  Festival  of  St.  James 
the  Greater  especially  directs  our  minds,  our  Lord 
solemnly  declares  that  the  high  places  of  His  King- 
dom are  not  His  to  give, — which  can  mean  nothing 
else,  than  that  the  assignment  of  them  does  not 
simply  and  absolutely  depend  upon  Him  ;  for  that 
He  will  actually  dispense  them  at  the  last  day,  and 
moreover  is  the  meritorious  cause  of  any  being 
given,  is  plain  from  Scripture.  I  say.  He  avers 
most  solemnly  that  something  besides  His  own  will 
and  choice  is  necessary,  for  obtaining  the  posts  of 
honour  about  His  throne  ;  so  that  we  are  naturally 
led  on  to  ask,  where  it  is  that  this  awfiil  prerogative 
is  lodged.  Is  it  with  His  Father  ?  He  proceeds  to 
speak  of  His  Father ;  but  neither  does  He  assign  it 


358  ST.  JAMES.  [Seem-. 

to  Him,  "  It  shall  be  given  to  them  for  whom  it 
is  prepared  of  My  Father."  The  Father's  foreknow- 
ledge and  design  are  announced,  not  His  choice. 
"  Whom  He  did  foreknow,  them  He  did  predesti- 
nate." He  prepares  the  reward,  and  confers  it, 
but  upon  whom?  No  answer  is  given  us,  unless 
it  is  conveyed  in  the  words  which  follow, — upon 
the  humble : — "  Whosoever  will  be  great  among 
you,  let  him  be  your  minister,  and  whosoever  will 
be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant." 

Some  parallel  passages  may  throw  further  light 
upon  the  question.  In  the  description  our  Lord 
gives  us  of  the  Last  Judgment,  He  tells  us  He  shall 
say  to  them  on  His  right  hand,  "  Come  ye  blessed 
of  My  Father,  inherit  the  Kingdom  prepared  for 
you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Here  we 
have  the  same  expression ;  who  then  are  the  heirs 
for  whom  the  Kingdom  is  prepared  ?  He  tells  us 
expressly,  those  who  fed  the  hungry  and  thirsty, 
lodged  the  stranger,  clothed  the  naked,  visited  the 
sick,  came  to  the  prisoners,  for  His  sake.  Consider 
again  an  earlier  passage  in  the  same  chapter.  To 
whom  is  it  that  He  will  say,  "  Enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord  ?" — to  those  whom  He  can  praise 
as  "  good  and  faithful  servants,"  who  have  been 
"  faithful  over  a  few  things."  Tliese  two  passages 
then  carry  our  search  just  to  the  very  same  point,  as 
that  of  which  the  text  is  a  part.  They  lead  u^from 
the  thought  of  God  and  Christ,  and  throw  us  upon 
human  agency  and  responsibility,  for  the  solution 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY,  359 

of  the  question;  and  they  finally  lodge  us  there, 
unless  indeed  other  texts  of  Scripture  can  be  pro- 
duced to  lead  us  on  further  still.  We  know  for 
certain  that  they  for  whom  the  Kingdom  is  prepared 
are  the  humble,  the  charitable,  and  the  diligent  in 
the  improvement  of  their  gifts ;  to  which  another 
text  (for  instance,)  adds  the  spiritually-minded ; — 
"  Eye  hath  not  seen  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  Icroe  Him  '."  Is  this  as  far 
as  we  can  go  ?  does  it  now  depend  ultimately  on 
ourselves,  or  on  any  one  else,  that  we  come  to  be 
humble,  charitable,  diligent,  and  lovers  of  God  ? 

Now,  in  answering  this  question  religious  men 
have  for  many  centuries  differed  in  opinion ;  not 
indeed  in  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  the  Church, 
but  when  corruptions  began  to  steal  in.  In  the 
primitive  times  it  was  always  considered  that, 
though  God's  grace  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
us  from  first  to  last, — ^before  we  believed,  in  order 
to  our  believing,  and  while  we  obeyed  and  worked 
righteousness,  in  order  to  our  obeying, — so  that  not 
a  deed,  word,  or  thought  could  be  pleasing  to  Him 
without  it ;  yet,  that  after  all  the  human  mind  had 
also  from  first  to  last  a  power  of  resisting  grace, 
and  thus  (as  the  foregoing  texts  imply)  had  com- 
mitted to  it  the  ultimate  determination  of  its  own 
fate,  whether  to  be  saved  or  rejected,  the  respon- 
sibility of  its  conduct,  and,  if  rejected,  the  whole 

'  Matt.  XXV.  21.  34—36.     1  Cor.  ii.  9. 


360  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

blame  of  it.  However,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century,  when  shadows  were  coming  over  the 
Church,  a  celebrated  Doctor  arose,  whose  name 
must  ever  be  honoured  by  us,  for  his  numberless 
gifts,  his  diligence,  and  his  extended  usefulness, 
whatever  judgment  may  be  passed  on  certain  of  his 
opinions.  He  is  known  in  the  Theological  Schools 
as  the  first  to  have  given  some  sort,  of  sanction  to 
two  doctrines  hitherto  unknown  in  the  Church,  and 
apparently  far  removed  from  each  other,  as  indeed 
are  the  modern  Systems  in  which  they  are  found. 
The  one   is   the    Predestinarian  Hypothesis^;  viz. 

^  "  When,  towards  the  close  of  his  controversy  with  the  Pela- 
gians, he  (Augustine)  entered  largely  and  systematically  into 
his  own  peculiar  views  of  election  and  predestination,  ...  it 
was,  even  by  those  who  concurred  in  the  general  drift  of  his 
previous  anti-pelagian  treatises  .  .  .  objected  to  him  that  he  was 
now  superfluously  advancing  a  scheme  of  doctrine  hitherto  un- 
known and  unheard  of,  a  scheme  of  doctrine  contrary  to  the  opi- 
nion of  all  antecedent  fathers,  and  contrary  to  the  sense  of  the 
entire  Church  Catholic.  .  . .  Augustine  was  charged  with  novelty 
.  .  .  But  how  does  the  great  Bishop  of  Hippo  act  under  the 
present  allegation  .  .  .  After  much  superfluous  discussion,  and 
(I  fear)  with  a  too  evident  reluctance  to  meddle  with  the  appeal 
to  antiquity,  [he]  claims  to  produce  exactly  three  witnesses  in 
his  favour,  Cyprian,  to  wit,  and  Ambrose,  and  Gregory  of  Nazi- 
anzum  .  .  .  But  in  truth,  with  the  scanty  exception  of  nine  words 
written  by  Ambrose,  their  several  testimonies  are  altogether 
nugatory  and  irrelevant ;  so  that  m  point  of  historical  evidence, 
as  afforded  by  those  fathers  who  preceded  Augustine,  the  whole 
mighty  fabric  of  .  .  .  Austinism,  rests  upon  the  single  Ambrosian 
sentence  :  Deus,  quos  dignatur,  vocat ;  et  quem  vult,  religiosum 
facit." — Faber's  Trinilarianism,  vol.  i.  p.  x — xiii. 


XXVL]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBtLITY.  6*61 

that,  in  spite  of  the  text,  it  is  God  and  Christ  with 
whom  the  ultimate  decision  concerning  the  indivi- 
dual's state  depends ;  that  His  grace  does  not 
merely  suggest,  influence,  precede,  and  follow,  but 
forms  in  the  soul  a  new  character,  not  by  the  soul's 
instrumentality,  but  immediately  by  Himself,  and 
is  effectual  with  some  not  with  others,  at  His  own 
will,  not  at  the  individual's.  The  one,  I  say,  is  this 
Predestinarian  Doctrine ;  and  the  other  is  the  doc- 
trine of  Purgatory  K  With  this  latter  I  am  not 
now  concerned  ;  and  mention  it  only  as  a  remark- 
able fact,  that  the  same  Teacher,  highly  to  be 
venerated  except  where  he  deviates  from  Catholic 
doctrine,  should  have  first  sanctioned  certain  cha- 
racteristics of  two  Systems,  which  lie  on  either 
side,  as  of  the  Primitive,  so  of  the  present  Anglican 
Church.  Dismissing  the  coincidence  with  this  re- 
mark, I  proceed  to  make  some  brief  observations 
on  the  ground  of  argument  on  which  the  Predesti- 
narian Doctrine  rests. 

It  is  doubtless  a  great  mystery,  how  it  is  that 

*  Vid.  Bull,  Sermon  iii.  p.  77.  Augustine  however  did  no 
more  than  state  the  doctrine  conjecturally.  "  The  first,"  says 
Archbishop  Usher,  "  whom  we  find  directly  to  have  held,  that 
*  for  certain  light  faults  there  is  a  purgatory  fire,'  provided 
before  the  day  of  judgment,  was  Gregory  the  First,  about 
the  end  of  the  sixth  age  after  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  Christ." 
Answer  to  a  Jesuit,  ch.  6.  Nay,  as  Bishop  Taylor  tells  us, 
even  "  St.  Gregory  Pope  affirms  that  which  is  perfectly  incon- 
sistent with  the  whole  doctrine  of  Purgatory."  Dissuasive, 
p.  2.  ii.  2. 


362  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

one  man  believes,  and  another  rejects  the  Gospel. 
It  is  altogether  a  mystery;  we  cannot  get  at  all 
beyond  the  fact,  and  must  be  content  with  our 
ignorance.  But  men  of  reasoning,  subtle,  and  rest- 
less minds,  have  within  them  a  temptation  to  in- 
quisitiveness  ;  they  cannot  acquiesce  in  the  limits  of 
God's  revelation,  and  go  on  to  assume  a  cause  for 
the  strange  things  they  see,  when  they  are  not  told 
one.  Thus  they  argue  that  a  man's  self  cannot  be 
the  ultimate  cause  of  his  faith  or  unbelief,  else  there 
would  be  more  first  causes  than  God  in  the  world  : 
as  if  the  same  reasoning  would  not  show  that  God 
is  the  Author  of  evil ;  or  as  if  it  were  more  intel- 
ligible, why  the  Divine  Will  should  chose  this  man 
and  reject  that,  than  why  an  individual  man  should 
chose  or  reject  good  or  evil.  When  then  they  see, 
as  is  constantly  seen  in  life,  two  persons,  in  edu- 
cation the  same,  in  circumstances  the  same,  both 
baptized,  both  admitted  to  full  Church  privileges, 
one  turning  out  well,  the  other  ill,  astonished  at 
the  mystery,  they  hastily  say,  "  Here  is  God's 
secret  election !  God  has  decreed  life  to  one,  and 
has  passed  over  the  other  ;  else  why  this  difference  of 
conduct  ?"  when  they  should  bow  the  head,  and  wait 
till  the  day  of  the  revelation  of  all  secrets.  Again, 
they  assume  that  the  will  is  subjected  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  reason,  affections,  and  the  like,  in  the 
same  uniform  way  in  which  material  bodies  obey 
the  laws  of  matter ; — that,  certain  inducements  or 
a  certain  knowledge  being  presented,  the  mind  can 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  363 

but  act  in  one  way ;  so  that,  its  movements  vary- 
ing, on  a  given  rule,  according  to  influences  from 
without,  (whether  from  the  world  or  from  God,) 
every  one's  doom  must  be  determined,  either  by 
the  mere  chance  of  external  circumstances,  (which 
is  irrational,)  or  else,  certainly  by  the  determina- 
tion of  God.  Such  are  their  reasonings ;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  they  should  trust  to  reasoning,  and 
in  so  special  a  way,  considering  they  are  commonly 
the  men  who  speak  against  human  reason  as  fallible 
and  corrupt,  when  it  is  brought  to  oppose  their  opi- 
nions. Such  grounds  of  argument,  then,  we  may 
dismiss  at  once,  except  in  philosophical  discussions, 
certainly  when  we  speak  as  Christians. 

Next,  let  us  inquire  whether  there  be  any  Scrip- 
ture reason,  for  breaking  the  chain  of  doctrine  which 
the  text  suggests.  Christ  gives  the  Kingdom  to 
those  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  the  Father ;  the 
Father  prepares  it  for  those  who  love  and  serve  Him. 
Does  Scripture  warrant  us  in  reversing  this  order, 
and  considering  that  any  are  chosen  to  love  Him 
by  His  irreversible  decree?  The  disputants  in 
question  maintain  that  it  does. 

1.  Scripture  is  supposed  expressly  to  promise 
perseverance,  when  men  once  savingly  partake  of 
grace  ;  as  where  it  is  said,  "  He  which  hath  begun 
a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of 
Jesus  Christ ' ;"  and  hence  it  is  inferred  that  the 
salvation   of   the   individual  rests   ultimately  with 

•  Phil.  i.  6. 


364  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

God,  and  not  with  himself.  But  here  I  would 
object  in  the  outset  to  applying  to  individuals,  pro- 
mises and  declarations  made  to  bodies,  and  of  a 
general  nature.  The  question  in  debate  is,  not 
whether  God  carries  forward  bodies  of  men,  such 
as  the  Christian  Church,  to  salvation,  but  whether 
He  has  accorded  any  promise  of  indefectibility  to 
given  individuals  ?  Those  who  differ  from  us  say, 
that  individuals  are  absolutely  chosen  to  eternal 
life ;  let  them  then  reckon  up  the  passages  in  Scrip- 
ture where  perseverance  is  promised  to  individuals. 
Till  they  can  satisfy  this  demand,  they  have  done 
nothing  by  producing  such  a  text  as  that  just  cited ; 
which,  being  spoken  of  the  body  of  Christians,  do 
but  impart  that  same  kind  of  encouragement,  as  is 
contained  in  otter  general  declarations,  such  as  the 
statement  about  God's  willingness  to  save.  His 
being  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  the  like. 

But  let  us  suppose,  for  argument's  sake,  that 
such  passages  may  be  applied  to  individuals ;  for 
instance,  as  when  Christ  says,  that  no  one  "  shall 
pluck  His  sheep  out  of  His  Father's  hand."  Now, 
I  would  maintain  that  here  a  condition  is  under- 
stood, as  is  constantly  the  case  in  Scripture,  as  in 
other  writings  ;  viz.  that,  while  the  sheep  "  follow" 
Christ,  and  keep  within  the  fold,  none  can  pluck 
them  thence.  God  proclaims  His  name  to  Moses, 
as  "  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgression,  and  sin, 
and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty  ' ;"  but 

'  John  X.  28.     Exod.  xxxiv.  7. 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  365 

what  would  be  thought  of  a  commentator  who 
hence  inferred  that  the  impenitent  might  be  for- 
given, and  the  repenting  sinner  fail  of  pardon  ? 

Again,  "It  is  God  which  worketh  in  you  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure  \"  What 
is  this  but  a  declaration,  that  on  the  whole  all  our 
sanctification  is  from  first  to  last  God's  work  ?  how 
does  it  interfere  with  this,  to  say  that  we  may 
effectually  resist  that  work  ?  Might  it  not  truly 
be  said  that  the  cure  of  a  sick  person  was  wholly 
attributable  to  the  physician,  without  denying  that 
the  former,  had  he  so  chosen,  might  have  obsti- 
nately rejected  the  medicine,  or  that  there  might 
have  been  (though  there  was  not,)  some  malignant 
habit  of  body,  which  completely  baffled  the  medical 
art  ?  Does  the  chance  of  failure  make  it  less  the 
physician's  work  when  there  is  not  failure  ? 

In  truth,  the  two  docrines  of  the  sovereign  and 
overruling  power  of  divine  grace,  and  man's  power 
of  resistance,  need  not  at  all  interfere  with  each 
other.  They  lie  in  different  provinces,  and  are  (as 
it  were,)  incommensurables.  Thus  St.  Paul  evi- 
dently accounted  them ;  else  he  could  not  have  in- 
troduced the  text  in  question  with  the  exhortation, 
"  Work  out"  or  accomplish  "  your  own  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling, ybr  it  is  God  which  work- 
eth" or  acts  "  in  you."  So  far  was  he  from  think- 
ing man's  distinct  working  inconsistent  with  God's 

•  Phil.  ii.  12,  13. 


366  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

continual  aiding,  that  he  assigns  the  knowledge  of 
the  latter  as  an  encouragement  to  the  former.  Let 
me  challenge  then  a  Predestinarian  to  paraphrase 
this  text.  We,  on  the  contrary,  find  no  insuperable 
difficulty  in  it,  considering  it  to  enjoin  upon  us  a 
deep  awe  and  reverence,  while  we  engage  in  those 
acts  and  efforts  which  are  to  secure  our  salvation, 
from  the  belief  that  God  is  in  us  and  with  us,  in- 
specting and  succouring  our  every  thought  and  deed. 
Would  not  the  Jewish  High  Priest,  on  the  Great 
Day  of  Atonement,  when  going  through  his  several 
acts  of  propitiation  in  God's  presence,  without  and 
within  the  Veil,  "  exceedingly  fear  and  quake,"  lest 
he  should  fail  in  aught  put  upon  him ;  and  shall 
not  we  in  our  more  blessed  Covenant,  knowing  that 
God  Himself  is  within  us,  and  in  all  we  do,  fear 
the  more  from  the  thought,  that  after  all,  we  have 
our  own  part  in  the  work,  and  must  do  it  well,  if 
we  are  to  be  saved  ?  What,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
the  meaning  of  saying  with  the  Predestinarian, 
"  Work  anxiously,  because,  in  reality,  you  have  no 
work  to  do?" 

I  say  this,  not  so  much  by  way  of  argument 
against  him,  as  to  show  that  a  text  which  might  be 
adduced  in  his  behalf,  chances  (so  to  say)  to  be 
implicated  with  an  exhortation,  such  as  proves  that 
it,  and  therefore  similar  passages,  cannot  really 
be  explained  as  he  would  have  it ;  proves,  that  his 
argument  from  it,  "  The  whole  work  of  salvation 
is  of  God,  therefore  man  has  no  real  part  in  securing 
1 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  367 

it,"  in  fact  runs  contrary  to  the  Apostle's  own 
argument  from  his  own  words,  "  Man  must  exert 
himself,  became  God  is  present  with  him.'*  It  is 
quite  certain  that  a  modern  Predestinarian  never 
could  have  vrritten  such  a  sentence. 

Another  instructive  passage  of  this  kind  is  our 
Lord's  declaration,  with  St.  John's  comment  upon 
it,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  his  Gospel,  "  There  are 
some  of  you  that  believe  not.  For  Jesus  knew 
from  the  beginning  who  they  were  that  believed 
not,  and  who  should  betray  Him.  And  He  said, 
Therefwe,  said  I  unto  you,  that  no  man  can  come 
unto  Me,  unless  it  were  given  unto  Mm  of  My 
Father r  Here,  in  the  plain  meaning  of  the  words, 
God's  foreknowledge  of  the  issue  of  free  will  in 
individuals  is  made  compatible  (though  the  man- 
ner how  is  not  told  us,)  with  electing  grace. 
"  Whom  He  did  foreknow,  He  also  did  predesti- 
nate." 

Take  again  another  passage.  "  I  obtained  mercy, 
because  I  did  it  ignorantly ;"  "  I  obtained  mercy, 
that  in  me  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all 
longsuffering  ^"  It  appears  that  the  Apostle  saw 
no  inconsistency  in  preaching  that  no  sinner  can 
claim  forgiveness,  yet  that  those  who  are  less  guilty 
than  others  obtain  it.  These  two  doctrines  do  not 
seem  to  have  come  into  collision  in  his  mind,  any 
more  than  in  our  own ;  but  it  is  quite  plain  that 

'  John  vi.  64,  65.     1   Tim.  i.  13.  16. 


368  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

a  Predestinarian  never  would  have  introduced  the 
second  while  descanting  on  the  first. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  there  are  many  passages 
of  the  following  kind,  which  are  sometimes  taken 
to  favour  the  Predestinarian  view,  and  require 
explanation.  "  God  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiri- 
tual blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  accord- 
ing as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and 
without  blame  before  Him  in  love,  having  predes- 
tinated us  unto  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus 
Christ  to  Himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure 
of  His  will."  Here  certainly  an  election  is  spoken 
of,  irrespective  of  the  conduct  of  the  individuals 
who  are  subjects  of  it.  Again*,  "  By  grace  are  ye 
saved  through  faith;  and  that  salvation  not  of 
yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God  ^ :"  and  the  like. 
But  in  such  passages  let  it  be  observed,  neither 
heaven,  nor  the  grace  of  Sanctification  is  spoken  of, 
but  the  present  privilege,  high  indeed  and  peculiar 
to  the  Gospel,  but  only  a  privilege,  of  regenera- 
tion. This  great  Christian  gift  of  course  includes 
in  it  the  communication  of  a  sanctifying  grace ;  but 
such  a  grace  may  be,  and  under  circumstances  has 
been,  given  vrithout  it.  The  Jews  were  aided  by 
the  Spirit  of  Sanctification,  not  of  Regeneration. 
They  were  not  the  sons  of  God,  as  we  are ;  whereas 
in  every  age  "  the  just  have  lived  by  faith,"  and 

'  Eph.  i.  3—5.  ii.  8. 


XXVI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  369 

the  like  fruits  of  Sanctification.  Now,  where  are 
we  told  that  this  Sanctifying  Grace  is  irrespective 
of  the  free-will  of  individuals  ?  for  this  is  the  point. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  readily  grant  that  the  grace 
of  Regeneration  is  such ;  we  grant  that  it  is  all 
that  certain  teachers  would  consider  Sanctification 
to  be.  It  is  a  definite  and  complete  gift  conveyed, 
not  orraduallv,  but  at  once :  or  at  least  it  has  not 
more  than  a  second  degree,  in  the  rite  of  Confirma- 
tion, wherein  what  is  given  in  Baptism  is  sealed  and 
secured ;  and  moreover,  it  is  a  state  distinct  from 
every  other,  consisting  in  the  Sacred  Presence  of 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  soul  and  body ;  and  lastly,  it  is 
bestowed  on  this  man  or  that,  not  by  any  rule  which 
we  can  discover,  but  at  the  inscrutable  decree  of 
Him,  who  calls  into  His  Church  whom  He  will.  But 
faith,  together  with  the  other  gifts  of  Sanctification, 
is  not  thus  bestowed.  In  its  nature  it  is  independ- 
ent of  Regeneration,  and,  in  the  formal  scheme  of 
the  Gospel,  it  is  antecedent  to  it.  It  is  the  ante- 
cedent condition  for  receiving  the  Ordinances  which 
convey  and  seal  Regeneration, — Baptism  and  Con- 
firmation. Hence,  St.  John  says,  "  As  many  as 
received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His 
name,  which  were  bom,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of 
God."  And  St.  Paul,  "  Believing  in  Christ,  ye 
were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  jyromise,  which 
,  VOL.  II.  B  b 


870  ST.  JAMES.  [Serm. 

is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  until  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  purchased  possession  \" 

It  avails  not,  therefore,  to  enlarge  upon  the  cha- 
racteristics of  the  Christian  Election,  with  a  view  of 
proving  the  irreversible  decrees  of  God  concerning 
t\iQ  final  salvation  of  individuals. 

3.  Lastly,  there  are  passages,  which  speak  of 
God's  judicial  dealings  with  the  heart  of  man ;  in 
which,  doubtless,  He  does  act  absolutely  at  His 
sole  will, — yet  not  in  the  beginning  of  His  Provi- 
dence towards  us,  but  at  the  close.  Thus  He  is 
said  "  to  send "  on  men  "  strong  delusiori  to  believe 
a  lie ;"  but  only  on  those  who  "  received  not  the 
love  of  the  Truth  that  they  might  be  saved  ^."  Such 
irresistible  influences  do  but  pre-suppose,  instead  of 
superseding  our  own  accountableness. 

These  three  explanations  then  being  allowed 
their  due  weight, — the  compatibility  of  God's  sove- 
reignty over  the  soul,  with  man's  individual  agency, 
the  distinction  between  Regeneration,  and  faith 
and  obedience,  and  the  judicial  purpose  of  certain 
divine  influences  upon  the  heart, — let  us  ask  what 
does  there  remain  of  Scripture  evidence  in  behalf  of 
the  Predestinarian  doctrines  ?  Are  we  not  obliged 
to  leave  the  mystery  of  human  agency  and  respon- 
sibility, as  we  find  it  ?  as  truly  a  mystery  in  itself 

'  Johni.  12,  13.  Eph.  i.  13,  14. 
^  2  Thess.  ii.  10,  11. 


XX VI.]  HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY.  371 

as  that  which  concerns  the  Nature  and  Attributes 
of  the  Divine  Mind. 

Surely  it  will  be  our  true  happiness  thus  to  con- 
duct ourselves ;  to  use  our  reason,  in  getting  at  the 
true  sense  of  Scripture,  not  in  making  a  series  of  de- 
ductions from  it ;  in  unfolding  the  doctrines  therein 
contained,  not  in  adding  new  ones  to  them;  in  ac- 
quiescing in  what  is  told,  not  in  indulging  curiosity 
about  the  "  secret  things"  of  the  Lord  our  God. 

I  conclude  with  the  following  text,  which  while 
it  is  a  solemn  warning  to  us  all  to  turn  to  God  with 
a  true  heart,  states  with  a  force  not  to  be  explained 
away,  that  revealed  Will  with  which  we  are  bound 
to  rest  satisfied.  '"  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but 
that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live.  Turn 
ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways,  for  why  will  ye 
die,  O  House  of  Israel  *." 

,    *  Ez.  xxxiii.  11. 


B  b   2 


SERMON    XXVII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW  THE  APOSTLE. 
GUILELESSNESS. 


John  i.  47. 


Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming  to  Him,  and  saith  of  him,  Behold 
an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile. 

St.  Bartholomew,  whose  Festival  we  celebrate 
to-day,  has  been  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the 
Nathanael  mentioned  in  the  text.  Nathanael  was 
one  of  Christ's  first  converts,  yet  his  name  does  not 
occur  again  till  the  last  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel, 
where  he  is  mentioned  in  company  with  certain  of 
the  Apostles,  to  whom  Christ  appeared  after  His 
resurrection.  Now  why  should  the  call  of  Natha- 
nael have  been  recorded  in  the  opening  of  the 
Gospel,  among  the  acts  of  Christ  in  the  beginning 
of  His  Ministry,  except  he  was  an  Apostle  ?  Philip, 
Peter,  and  Andrew,  who  are  mentioned  at  the  same 
time,  were  all  Apostles ;  and  Nathanael's  name  is 
introduced  without  preface,  as  if  familiar  to  a  Chris- 
tian reader.     At  the  end  of  the  Gospel  it  appears 


Serm.  XXVII.]  GUILELESSNESS.  37S 

again,  and   there   too   among   Apostles.     Besides, 
the  Apostles  were  the  special  witnesses  of  Christ, 
when  He  was  risen.   He  manifested  Himself,  "  not 
to  all  the  people,"  says  St.  Peter,  "  but  unto  wit- 
nesses chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did 
eat  and  drink  with  Him   after  He  rose  from  the 
dead^"     Now,  the   occasion  on  which  Nathanael 
is  mentioned,    was   one    of    these   manifestations. 
"  This  is  now  the  third  time,"  says  the  Evangelist, 
"  that  Jesus  was  manifested  to  His  disciples,  after 
that  He  was  risen  from  the  dead."     It  was  in  the 
presence  of  Nathanael,  that  He  gave  St.  Peter  his 
commission,  and  foretold  his  martyrdom,  and  the 
prolonged  life  of  St.  John.     This  leads  us  to  con- 
jecture  that   Nathanael  is    one    of   the    Apostles 
under   another   name.     Now  he   is   not  Andrew, 
Peter,   or  Philip,  for  they  are  mentioned  in  con- 
nexion with  him  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Gospel ; 
nor  Thomas,  James,  or  John,  in  whose  company  he 
is  found  in  the  last  chapter  ;  nor  Jude,  (as  it  would 
seem,)  because  the  name  of  Jude  occurs  in  St.  John's 
fourteenth   chapter.     Four  Apostles  remain,   who 
are  not  named  in  his  Gospel, — St.  James  the  Less, 
St  Matthew,  St.  Simon,  and  St.  Bartholomew ;  of 
whom  St.  Matthew's  second  name  is  known  to  have 
been  Levi,  while  St.  James,  being  related,  was  not 
at  any  time  a  stranger  to  our  Lord,  which  Natha- 
nael evidently  was.     If  then  Nathanael  were  an 

*  Acts  X.  41. 


374  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW.  [Serm. 

Apostle,  he  was  either  Simon  or  Bartholomew. 
Now  it  is  observable,  that,  according  to  St.  John, 
Philip  brought  Nathanael  to  Christ ;  therefore  Na- 
thanael  and  Philip  were  friends  :  while  in  the  other 
Gospels,  in  the  list  of  Apostles,  Philip  is  associated 
with  Bartholomew ;  "  Simon  and  Andrew,  James 
and  John,  Philip  and  Bartholomew  ^"  This  is  some 
evidence  that  Bartholomew  and  not  Simon  is  the 
Nathanael  of  St.  John.  On  the  other  hand,  Mat- 
thias has  been  suggested  instead  of  either,  his  name 
meaning  nearly  the  same  as  Nathanael  in  the  ori- 
ginal language.  However,  since  writers  of  some 
date  decide  in  favour  of  Bartholomew,  I  shall  do 
the  like  in  what  follows. 

What  then  do  we  learn  from  his  recorded  cha- 
racter and  history?  It  affords  us  an  instructive 
lesson. 

When  Philip  told  him  that  he  had  found  the 
long  expected  Messiah,  of  whom  Moses  wrote, 
Nathanael  (that  is,  Bartholomew)  at  first  doubted. 
He  was  well  read  in  the  Scriptures,  and  knew  the 
Christ  was  to  be  born  in  Bethlehem ;  whereas  Jesus 
dwelt  at  Nazareth,  which  Nathanael  supposed  in 
consequence  to  be  the  place  of  his  birth, — and 
he  knew  of  no  particular  promises  attached  to  that 
city,  which  was  a  place  of  evil  report,  and  he 
thought  no  good  could  come  out  of  it.  Philip  told 
him  to  come  and  see ;  and  he  went  to  see,  as  a 

'  Matt.  X.  3. 


XXVII.]  GUILELESSNESS.  375 

humble  single-minded  man,  sincerely  desirous  to  get 
at  the  truth.  In  consequence,  he  was  vouchsafed  an 
interview  with  our  Saviour,  and  was  converted. 

Now,  from  what  occurred  in  this  interview,  we 
gain  some  insight  into  St.  Bartholomew's  character. 
Our  Lord  said  of  him,  "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed, 
in  whom  is  no  guile  ;"  and  it  appears,  moreover,  as 
if  before  Philip  called  him  to  come  to  Christ,  he 
was  engaged  in  meditation  or  prayer,  in  the  privacy 
which  a  fig-tree's  shade  afforded  him.  And  this,  it 
seems,  was  the  life  of  one  who  was  destined  to  act 
the  busy  part  of  an  Apostle ;  quietness  without, 
guilelessness  within.  This  was  the  tranquil  prepa- 
ration for  great  dangers  and  sufferings !  We  see 
who  make  the  most  heroic  Christians,  and  are  the 
most  honoured  by  Christ ! 

An  even  unvaried  life  is  the  lot  of  most  men,  in 
spite  of  occasional  troubles  or  other  accidents ;  and 
we  are  apt  to  despise  it,  and  to  get  tired  of  it,  and 
to  long  to  see  the  world, — or,  at  all  events,  we  think 
such  a  life  affords  no  great  opportunity  for  religious 
obedience.  To  rise  up,  and  go  through  the  same 
duties,  and  then  to  rest  again,  day  after  day, — to  pass 
week  after  week,  beginning  with  God's  service  on 
Sunday,  and  then  to  our  worldly  tasks, — so  to  con- 
tinue till  year  follows  year,  and  we  gradually  get  old, 
— an  unvaried  life  like  this  is  apt  to  seem  unpro- 
fitable to  us  when  we  dwell  upon  the  thought  of  it. 
Many  indeed  there  are,  who  do  not  think  at  all ; — 
but  live  in  this  round  of  employments,  without  care 


376  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW.  [Sehm. 

about  God  and  religion,  driven  on  by  the  natural 
course  of  things  in  a  dull  irrational  way  like  the 
beasts  that  perish.  But  when  a  man  begins  to  feel 
he  has  a  soul,  and  a  work  to  do,  and  a  reward  to 
be  gained,  greater  or  less,  according  as  he  improves 
the  talents  committed  to  him,  then  he  is  naturally 
tempted  to  be  anxious  from  his  very  wish  to  be 
saved,  and  he  says :  "  What  must  I  do  to  please 
God  ?"  And  sometimes  he  is  led  to  think  he  ought 
to  be  useful  on  a  large  scale,  and  goes  out  of  his 
line  of  life,  that  he  may  be  doing  something  worth 
doing,  as  he  considers  it.  Here  we  have  the  history 
of  St.  Bartholomevf  and  the  other  Apostles  to  recall 
us  to  ourselves,  and  to  assure  us  that  we  need  not 
give  up  our  usual  manner  of  life,  in  order  to  servo 
God,  that  the  most  humble  and  quietest  station  is 
acceptable  to  Him,  if  improved  duly,  nay,  affords 
means  for  maturing  the  highest  Christian  character, 
even  that  of  an  Apostle.  Bartholomew  read  the 
Scriptures  and  prayed  to  God  ;  and  thus  was  trained 
at  length  to  give  up  his  life  for  Christ,  when  He 
demanded  it. 

But  further,  let  us  consider  the  particular  praise 
which  our  Saviour  gives  him.  "  Behold  an  Is- 
raelite indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile."  This  is  just 
the  character  which  (through  God's  grace)  they 
may  attain  most  fully,  who  live  out  of  the  world 
in  the  private  way  I  have  been  describing, — which 
is  made  least  account  of  by  man,  and  thought 
to  be   in   the   M^ay   of  success  in  life,   though  our 

K- 


XXVII.]  GUILELESSNESS.  S77 

Saviour  chose  it  to  make  head  against  all  the  power 
and  wisdom  of  the  world.  Men  of  the  world  think 
an  ignorance  of  its  ways  is  a  disadvantage  or  dis- 
grace ;  as  if  it  were  somehow  unmanly  and  weak 
to  have  abstained  from  all  acquaintance  with  its  im- 
pieties and  lax  practices.  How  often  do  we  hear  them 
say  that  a  man  must  do  so  and  so,  unless  he  would 
be  singular  and  absurd ;  that  he  must  not  be  too 
strict,  or  indulge  high-flown  notions  of  virtue,  which 
may  be  good  to  talk  about,  but  are  not  fit  for  this 
world !  When  they  hear  of  any  young  person 
resolving  on  being  consistently  religious,  or  being 
strictly  honest  in  trade,  or  observing  a  noble  purity 
in  Janguage  and  demeanour,  they  smile  and  think 
it  very  well,  but  that  it  will  and  must  wear  off 
in  time.  And  they  are  ashamed  of  being  inno- 
cent, and  pretend  to  be  worse  than  they  really  are. 
Then  they  have  all  sorts  of  little  ways — are  mean, 
jealous,  suspicious,  censorious,  cunning,  insincere, 
selfish ;  and  think  others  as  low-minded  as  them- 
selves, only  proud,  or  in  some  sense  hypocritical, 
unwilling  to  confess  their  real  motives  and  feelings. 
To  this  base  and  irreligious  multitude  is  opposed 
the  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  there  is  no  guile. 
David  describes  his  character  in  the  fifteenth  Psalm ; 
and,  taken  in  all  its  parts,  it  is  a  rare  one.  lie 
asks,  "  Lord,  who  shall  abide  in  Thy  tabernacle  ? 
who  shall  dwell  in  Thy  holy  hill  ?  He  that  walketh 
uprightly,  and  worketli  righteousness,  and  speaketh 
the  truth  in  his  heart.     He  that  backbiteth  not  with 


378  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW.  [Serm. 

his  tongue,  nor  doeth  evil  to  his  neighbour,  nor 
taketh  up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbour.  In 
whose  eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned;  but  he 
honoureth  them  that  fear  the  Lord.  He  that  swear- 
eth  to  his  own  hurt,  and  changeth  not." 

I  say,  it  is  a  difficult  and  rare  virtue,  to  mean 
what  we  say,  to  love  without  dissimulation,  to 
think  no  evil,  to  bear  no  grudge,  to  be  free  from 
selfishness,  to  be  innocent  and  straightforward. 
This  character  of  mind  is  something  far  above 
the  generality  of  men  ;  and,  when  realized  in  due 
measure,  one  of  the  surest  marks  of  Christ's 
elect.  And  the  instances  which  we  may  every  now 
and  then  discover  of  it  among  Christians,  will  be 
an  evidence  to  us,  if  evidence  be  wanting,  that,  in 
spite  of  all  that  grovelling  minds  may  say  about 
the  necessity  of  acquaintance  with  the  world  and 
with  sin,  in  order  to  get  on  well  in  life,  yet  after 
all,  inexperienced  guilelessness  carries  a  man  on  as 
safely  and  more  happily.  For,  first,  it  is  in  itself  a 
great  privilege  to  a  rightly  disposed  mind,  not  to  be 
sensible  of  the  moral  miseries  of  the  world ;  and 
this  is  eminently  the  lot  of  the  simple-hearted. 
They  take  every  thing  in  good  part  which  happens 
to  them,  and  make  the  best  of  every  one  ;  thus  they 
have  always  something  to  be  pleased  with,  not 
seeing  the  bad,  and  keenly  sensible  of  the  good. 
And  communicating  their  own  happy  peace  to  those 
around  them,  they  really  diminish  the  evils  of  life 
in   society  at   large,   while  they  escape  from  the 


XXVII.]  GUILELESSNESS.  379 

knowledge  of  them  themselves.  Such  men  are 
cheerful  and  contented ;  for  they  desire  but  little, 
and  take  pleasure  in  the  least  matters,  having  no 
wish  for  riches  and  distinction.  And  they  are 
under  the  tyranny  of  no  evil  or  base  thoughts, 
havinof  never  encourao^ed  what  in  the  case  of  other 
men  often  spreads  disorder  and  unholiness  through 
their  whole  future  life.  They  have  no  phan- 
toms of  former  sins,  such  as  remain  even  to  the 
penitent,  when  he  has  subdued  their  realities, 
rising  up  in  their  minds,  harassing  them,  for  a 
time  domineering,  and  leaving  a  sting  behind 
them.  Guileless  persons  are,  most  of  all  men, 
skilful  in  shaming  and  silencing  the  wicked ; — for 
they  do  not  argue,  but  take  things  for  granted  in 
so  natural  a  way,  that  they  throw  back  the  sinner 
upon  the  recollection  of  those  times  of  his  youth, 
when  he  was  pure  from  sin,  and  thought  as  they 
do  now;  and  none  but  very  hardened  men  can 
resist  this  sort  of  appeal.  Men  of  irreligious  lives 
live  in  bondage  and  fear;  even  though  they  do 
not  acknowledge  it  to  themselves.  Many  a  one, 
who  would  be  ashamed  to  own  it,  is  afraid  of  cer- 
tain places  or  times,  or  of  solitude,  from  a  sort  of 
instinct  that  he  is  no  company  for  good  spirits,  and 
that  devils  may  then  assail  him.  But  the  guile- 
less man  has  a  simple  boldness  and  a  princely 
heart ;  he  overcomes  dangers  which  others  shrink 
from,  merely  because  they  are  no  dangers  to  him, 
and  thus  he  often  gains  even  worldly  advantages 


380  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW.  [Serm. 

by  his  straightforwardness,  which  the  most  crafty- 
persons  cannot  gain,  though  they  risk  their  souls 
for  them.  It  is  true  such  single-hearted  men  often 
get  into  difficulties,  but  they  usually  get  out  of 
them  as  easily ;  and  are  almost  unconscious  both 
of  their  danger  and  their  escape.  Perhaps  they 
have  not  received  a  learned  education,  and  cannot 
talk  fluently ;  yet  they  are  ever  a  match  for  those 
who  try  to  shake  their  faith  in  Christ  by  profane 
argument  or  ridicule,  for  the  weakness  of  God  is 
stronger  than  men. 

Nor  is  it  only  among  the  poor  and  lowly  that  this 
blessed  character  of  mind  is  found  to  exist.  Secular 
learning  and  dignity  have  doubtless  in  their  respec- 
tive ways  a  powerful  tendency  to  rob  the  heart  of  its 
brightness  and  purity  ;  yet  even  in  kings'  courts, 
and  the  schools  of  philosophy,  Nathanaels  may  be 
discovered.  Nay,  like  the  Apostle,  they  have  been 
subjected  to  the  world's  buffetings,  they  have  been 
thwarted  in  their  day,  lived  in  anxiety,  and  seem- 
ingly lost  by  their  honesty,  yet  without  being  foiled 
either  of  its  present  comfort  or  its  ultimate  fruit. 
Such  was  our  great  Archbishop  and  Martyr,  to 
whom  perchance  we  owe  it,  that  we  who  now  live 
are  still  members  of  a  branch  of  the  Church  Ca- 
tholic ;  one  of  whose  "  greatest  unpopular  infirmi- 
ties," according  to  the  historian  of  his  times,  was 
"  that  he  believed  innocence  of  heart,  and  integrity 
of  manners,  was  a  guard  strong  enough  to  secure 
any  man  in  his  voyage  through  this  world,  in  what 


XXVII]  '   GUILELESSNESS.  381 

company  soever  he  travelled,  and  through  what 
ways  soever  he  was  to  pass.  And  sure,  (he  adds,) 
never  any  man  was  better  supplied  with  that  pro- 
vision." 

I  have  in  these  remarks  spoken  of  guileless  men 
as  members  of  society,  because  I  wished  to  show, 
that,  even  in  that  respect  in  which  they  seem  de- 
ficient, they  possess  a  hidden  strength,  an  uncon- 
scious wisdom,  which  makes  them  live  above  the 
world,  and  sooner  or  later  triumph  over  it.     The 
weapons  of  their  warfare  are  not  carnal ;  and  they 
are  fitted  to  be  Apostles,  though  they  seem  to  be 
ordinary  men.     Such  is  the  blessedness  of  the  in- 
nocent, that  is,  of  those  who  have  never  given  way 
to   evil,    or  formed  themselves  to  habits    of  sin ; 
who  in  consequence  literally  do  not  know  its  power 
or  its  misery,  who  have  thoughts  of  truth  and  peace 
ever  before  them,  and  are  able  to  discern  at  once 
the  right  and  wrong  in  conduct,  as  by  some  delicate 
instrument,  which  tells  truly  because  it  has  never 
been   ill-treated.      Nay,  such  may  be  the  portion 
(through  God's  mercy)  even  of  those  who  have  at  one 
time  departed  from  Him,   and  then  repented ;  in 
proportion  as  they  have  learned  to  love  God,  and 
have  purified  themselves,  not  only  from  sin,  but 
from  the  recollections  of  it. 

Lastly,  more  is  requisite  for  the  Christian,  even 
than  guilelessness  such  as  Bartholomew's.  When 
Christ  sent  forth  him  and  his  brethren  into  the 
world.   He  said,    "  Behold,   I   send  you    forth   as 


382  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW.  [Sekm.  XXVII. 

sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  be  ye  therefore  wise 
as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves."  Innocence 
must  be  joined  to  prudence,  discretion,  self-com- 
mand, gravity,  patience,  perseverance  in  well-doing, 
as  Bartholomew  doubtless  learned  in  due  season 
under  his  Lord's  teaching;  but  innocence  is  the 
beginning.  Let  us  then  pray  God  to  fulfil  in  us 
"  all  the  good  pleasure  of  His  goodness,  and  the 
work  of  faith  with  power ;"  that  if  it  should  please 
Him  suddenly  to  bring  us  forward  to  great  trials, 
as  He  did  His  Apostles,  we  may  not  be  taken  by 
surprise,  but  be  found  to  have  made  a  private  or 
domestic  life  a  preparation  for  the  achievements  of 
Confessors  and  Martyrs. 


SERMON    XXVIII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MATTHEW  THE  APOSTLE. 
THE  DANGER  OF  RICHES. 


Luke  vi.  24. 


Woe  unto  you  that  are  rich !  for  ye  have  received  your   con- 
solation. 

Unless  we  were  accustomed  to  read  the  New 
Testament  from  our  childhood,  I  think  we  should 
be  very  much  struck  with  the  warnings  which  it 
contains,  not  only  against  the  love  of  riches,  but 
the  very  possession  of  them ;  we  should  wonder 
with  a  portion  of  that  astonishment  which  the 
Apostles  at  first  felt,  who  had  been  brought  up 
in  the  notion  that  they  were  a  chief  reward  which 
God  bestowed  on  those  He  loved.  As  it  is,  we 
have  heard  the  most  solemn  declarations  so  con- 
tinually, that  we  have  ceased  to  attach  any  distinct 
meaning  to  them ;  or,  if  our  attention  is  at  any  time 
drawn  more  closely  to  them,  we  soon  dismiss  the 
subject  on  some  vague  imagination,  that  what  is 

1 


38i  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Skhm. 

said  in  Scripture  had  a  reference  to  the  particular 
times  when  Christ  came,  without  attempting  to 
settle  its  exact  application  to  us,  or  whether  it  has 
any  such  application  at  all, — as  if  the  circumstance 
that  the  interpretation  requires  care  and  thought, 
were  an  excuse  for  giving  no  thought  nor  care 
whatever  to  the  settling  of  it. 

But,  even  if  we  had  ever  so  little  concern  in  the 
Scripture  denunciations  against  riches  and  the  love 
of  riches,  the  very  awfulness  of  them  might  have 
seemed  enough  to  save  them  from  neglect ;  just  as 
the  flood,  and  the  judgment  upon  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  are  still  dwelt  upon  by  Christians  with 
solemn  attention,  though  we  have  a  promise  against 
the  recurrence  of  the  one,  and  trust  we  shall  never 
be  so  deserted  by  God's  grace  as  to  call  down  upon 
us  the  other.  And  this  consideration  mav  lead  a 
man  to  suspect  that  the  neglect  in  question  does 
not  entirely  arise  from  unconcern,  but  from  a  sort 
of  misgiving  that  the  subject  of  riches  is  one  which 
cannot  be  safely  or  comfortably  discussed  by  the 
Christian  world  at  this  day ;  that  is,  which  cannot 
be  discussed  without  placing  the  claims  of  God's 
Law  and  the  pride  of  life  into  visible  and  perplexing 
opposition. 

Let  us  then  see  what  the  letter  of  Scripture  says 
on  the  subject.  For  instance,  consider  the  text. 
"  Woe  unto  you  that  are  rich  !  for  ye  have  received 
your  consolation !"  The  words  are  sufficiently 
clear,   (it  will  not  be  denied,)    as  spoken  of  rich 


XXVIIL]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  385 

persons  in  our  Saviour's  day.  Let  the  full  force  of 
the  word  "  consolation,"  be  observed.  It  is  used  by 
way  of  contrast  to  the  comfort  which  is  promised 
to  the  Christian  in  the  list  of  Beatitudes  ^  Com- 
fort in  all  the  fulness  of  that  word,  as  including 
help,  guidance,  encouragement,  and  support,  is 
the  peculiar  promise  of  the  Gospel.  The  Promised 
Spirit  who  has  taken  Christ's  place,  was  called  by 
Him  "  the  Comforter."  There  is  then  something 
very  fearful  in  the  intimation  of  the  text,  that  those 
who  have  riches  thereby  receive  their  portion,  such 
as  it  is,  in  full,  instead  of  the  Heavenly  Gift  of  the 
Gospel.  The  same  doctrine  is  implied  in  our 
Lord's  words  in  the  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus. 
"  Son,  remember  thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst 
thy  good  things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil  things ; 
but  now  he  is  comfm^ted^  and  thou  art  tormented." 
At  another  time  He  said  to  His  Disciples,  "  How 
hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God !  for  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go 
through  a  needle's  eye,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  ^" 

Now  it  is  usual  to  dismiss  such  passages  with 
the  remark  that  they  are  directed,  not  against 
those  who  have,  but  against  those  who  trust  in 
riches;  as  if  forsooth  they  implied  no  connexion 
between  the  having  and  the  trusting,  no  warning 

Matt.  V.  4.  *  Luke  xvi.  25.  xviii.  24,  25. 

VOL.  II.  CO 


386  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

lest  the  possession  led  to  the  idolatrous  reliance  on 
them,  no  necessity  of  fear  and  anxiety  in  the  pos- 
sessors, lest  they  should  become  castaways.     And 
this  irrelevant  distinction  is  supposed  to  find  coun- 
tenance in  our  Lord's  own  language  on  one  of  the 
occasions  above  referred  to,  in  which  He  first  says, 
"  How  hardly  shall  they  that  Jiam   riches,"  then, 
"  How   hard  is  it  for  them  that  trust  in  riches,  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God ;"  whereas,  surely. 
He  only  removes   His  disciples'   false  impression, 
that   the  bare  circumstance  of  possessing  wealth 
was  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  salvation,  and  no 
more  interprets  having  by  trusting,  than  makes  trust- 
ing  essential  to  having.      He  connects   the    two, 
without  identifying,  without  explaining  away ;  and 
the  simple  question  which  lies  for  our  determination, 
is  this : — whether,  considering  that  they  who  had 
riches  when  Christ  came,  were  likely  in  His  judg- 
ment idolatrously  to  trust  in  them,  there  is,  or  is 
not,  reason  for  thinking  that  this  likelihood  varies 
materially  in  different  ages  ;  and,  according  to  the 
solution  of  this  question,  must  we  determine  the 
application  of  the  woe  pronounced  in  the  text  to 
these  times.     And,  at  all  events,  let  it  be  observed, 
it  is  for  those  who  would  make  out  that  these  pas- 
sages do  Tiot  apply  now,  to  give  their  reasons  for 
their  opinion;  the  burden  of  proof  is  with  them. 
Till  they  draw  their  clear  and  reasonable  distinc- 
tions between  the  first  and  the  nineteenth  century, 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  387 

the  denunciation  hangs  over  the  world  that  is,  as 
much  as  over  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  at  our 
Lord's  coming. 

But,  in  truth,  that  our  Lord  meant  to  speak  of 
riches  as  being  in  some  sense  a  calamity  to  the 
Christian,  is  plain,  not  only  from  such  texts  as  the 
foregoing,  but  from  His  praises  and  recommenda- 
tion on  the  other  hand  of  poverty.  For  instance, 
"  Sell  that  ye  have  and  give  alms ;  provide  your- 
selves bags  which  wax  not  old."  "  If  thou  wilt  be 
perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the 
poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven." 
"  Blessed  be  ye  poor ;  for  yours  is  the  kingdom  of 
God."  "  When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper, 
call  not  thy  friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  neither  thy 
kinsmen,  nor  thy  rich  neighbours  ....  but  .... 
call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind." 
And  in  like  manner,  St.  James :  "  Hath  not  God 
chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich  in  faith,  and 
heirs  of  that  kingdom  which  He  hath  promised  to 
them  that  love  Him  ^  ?"  Now  I  cite  these  texts  in 
the  way  of  doctrine,  not  of  precept.  Whatever  be 
the  line  of  conduct  they  prescribe  to  this  or  that 
individual  (with  which  I  have  nothing  to  do  at 
present,)  so  far  seems  clear,  that  according  to  the 
rule  of  the  Gospel,  the  absence  of  wealth,  is,  as  such, 
a  more  blessed  and  a  more  Christian  state  than  the 
possession  of  it. 

*  Luke  xii.  33.  Matt.  xix.  21.  Luke  vi.  20.  xiv.  12,  13. 
James  ii.  5. 

c  c  2 


,'388  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

The  most  ob\'ious  danger  which  worldly  posses- 
sions present  to  our  spiritual  welfare  is,  that  they 
become  practically  a  substitute  in  our  hearts  for 
that  One  Object  to  which  our  supreme  devotion 
is  due.  They  are  present ;  God  is  unseen.  They 
are  means  at  hand  of  effecting  what  we  want ; 
whether  God  will  hear  our  petitions  for  such 
things,  is  uncertain  ;  or  rather,  I  may  say,  certain 
in  the  negative.  Thus  they  minister  to  the  cor- 
rupt inclinations  of  our  nature ;  they  promise  and 
are  able  to  be  gods  to  us,  and  such  gods  too  as 
require  no  service,  but,  like  dumb  idols,  exalt  the 
worshipper,  impressing  him  with  a  notion  of  his 
own  power  and  security.  And  in  this  consist  their 
chief  and  most  subtle  mischief.  Religious  men 
are  able  to  repress,  nay  extirpate  sinful  desires,  the 
lust  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  eyes,  gluttony,  drunken- 
ness, and  the  like,  love  of  amusements  and  frivo- 
lous pleasures  and  display,  indulgence  in  luxuries 
of  whatever  kind ;  but  as  to  wealth,  they  cannot 
easily  rid  themselves  of  a  secret  feeling  that  it  gives 
them  a  footing  to  stand  upon,  an  importance,  a 
superiority ;  and  in  consequence  they  get  attached 
to  this  world,  lose  sight  of  the  duty  of  bearing  the 
Cross,  become  dull  and  dim-sighted,  and  lose 
their  delicacy  and  precision  of  touch,  are  numbed 
(so  to  say)  in  their  fingers'-ends,  as  regards  reli- 
gious interests  and  prospects.  To  risk  all  upon 
Christ's  word  seems  somehow  unnatural  to  them, 
extravagant,  and  evidences  a  morbid    excitfhent; 


XXVIII.]  DAxXGER  OF  RICHES.  389 

and  death,  instead   of  being  a  gracious,   however 
awful  release,  is  not  a  welcome  subject  of  thought. 
They  are  content  to  remain  as  they  are,  and  do  not 
contemplate  a  change.     They  desire  and  mean  to 
serve  God,    nay   actually  do  serve  Him  in   their 
measure ;  but  not  with  the  keen  sensibilities,  the 
noble  enthusiasm,  the  grandeur   and    elevation  of 
soul,  the  dutifulness  and  affectionateness  towards 
Christ,  which  becomes  a  Christian,   but  as  Jews 
might  obey,  who  had  no  Image  of  God  given  them 
except  this  created  world,  "  eating  their  bread  with 
joy,  and  drinking  their  wine  with  a  merry  heart," 
caring  that  "  their  garments  be  always  white,  and 
their   head   lacking    no    ointment,   living  joyfully 
with  the  wife  whom  they  love  all  the  days  of  the 
life  of  their  vanity,"  and  "  enjoying  the  good  of 
their  labour  \"     Not,  of  course,  that  the  due  use  of 
God's  temporal  blessings   is  wrong,   but  to  make 
them  the  object  of  our  affections,  to  allow  them  to 
beguile  us  from  the  "  One  Husband"  to  whom  we  are 
espoused,  is  to  mistake  the  Gospel  for  Judaism. 

This  then,  if  we  may  venture  to  say  so,  was  some 
part  of  our  Saviour's  meaning,  when  He  connects 
together  the  having  with  the  trusting  in  riches; 
and  it  is  especially  suitable  to  consider  it  upon 
this  day,  when  we  commemorate  an  Apostle  and 
Evangelist,  whose  history  is  an  example  and  en- 
couragement for  all  those  who  have,  and  fear  lest 
they  should  trust.     But  St.  Matthew  was  exposed 

'  Eccles.  ix.  7—0.  v.  18. 


390  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Seem. 

to  an  additional  temptation,  which  I  shall  proceed  to 
/  consider;  for  he  not  only  possessed,  but  he  was 
I  engaged  also  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth.  Our  Saviour 
seems  to  warn  us  against  this  further  danger  in  His 
description  of  the  thorns,  in  the  parable  of  the 
Sower,  as  being  "  the  care  of  this  world  and  the 
deceitfulness  of  riches ;"  and  more  clearly  in  the 
parable  of  the  Great  Supper,  where  the  guests 
excuse  themselves,  one,  as  having  "  bought  a 
piece  of  ground,"  another  "  five  yoke  of  oxen." 
Still  more  openly  does  St.  Paul  speak  in  his  first 
Epistle  to  Timothy  ;  "  They  that  desire  to  be  rich, 
fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many 
foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  de- 
struction and  perdition.  For  the  love  of  money  is 
the  root  of  all  evil ;  which,  while  some  coveted 
after,  they  have  erred  from  the  Faith,  and  pierced 
themselves  through  with  many  sorrows  '." 

The  danger  of  possessing  riches  is  the  carnal 
security  to  which  they  lead ;  that  of  "  desiring'^ 
and  'pursuing  them,  is,  that  an  object  of  this  world 
is  thus  set  before  us  as  the  aim  and  end  of  life.  It 
seems  to  be  the  will  of  Christ  that  His  followers 
should  have  no  aim  or  end,  pursuit,  or  business 
merely  of  this  world.  Here,  again,  I  speak  as 
before,  not  in  the  way  of  precept,  but  of  doctrine. 
I  am  looking  at  His  holy  religion  as  at  a  distance, 
and  determining  what  is  its  general  character  and 

'  Matt.  xiii.  22.     Luke  xiv.  18,  19.      1  Tim.  vi.  9,  10. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES;  391 

spirit,  not  what  may  happen  to  be  the  duty  of  this 
or  that  individual  who  has  embraced  it.  It  is  His 
will  that  all  we  do  should  be  done,  not  unto  men, 
or  to  the  world,  or  to  self,  but  to  His  glory ;  and  the 
more  we  are  enabled  to  do  this  simply,  the  more 
favoured  we  are.  Whenever  we  act  with  reference 
to  an  object  of  this  world,  even  though  it  be  ever 
so  pure,  we  are  exposed  to  the  temptation,  (not 
irresistible,  God  forbid  !)  still  to  the  temptation  of 
setting  our  hearts  upon  obtaining  it.  And  there- 
fore, we  call  all  such  objects  excitements^  as  stimu- 
lating us  incongruously,  casting  us  out  of  the 
serenity  and  stability  of  heavenly  faith,  attracting 
us  aside  by  their  proximity  from  our  harmonious 
round  of  duties,  and  making  our  thoughts  converge 
to  something  short  of  that  which  is  infinitely  High 
and  eternal.  Such  excitements  are  of  perpetual 
occurrence,  and  the  mere  undergoing  them,  so  far 
from  involving  guilt  in  the  act  itself  or  its  results, 
is  the  great  business  of  life  and  the  discipline  of  our 
hearts.  It  is  often  a  sin  to  withdraw  from  them,\ 
as  has  been  the  case  of  some  perhaps  who  have  1 
gone  into  Monasteries  to  serve  God  more  entirely.  ) 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  very  duty  of  the  Spiri- 
tual Ruler  to  labour  for  the  flock  committed  to  him, 
to  suffer  and  to  dare;  St.  Paul  was  encompassed 
with  excitements  hence  arising,  and  his  writings 
show  the  agitating  effect  of  them  on  his  mind.  He 
was  like  David,  a  man  of  war  and  blood;  and 
that,  for  our  sakes.     Still  it  holds  good  that  tlie 


^.-O   t- 


392  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Serm. 

essential  spirit  of  the  Gospel  is  "  quietness  and 
confidence;"  that  the  possession  of  these  is  the 
highest  gift,  and  to  gain  them  perfectly  our  main 
aim.  Consequently,  however  much  a  duty  it  is  to 
undergo  excitements  when  they  are  sent  upon  us, 
it  is  plainly  unchristian,  a  manifest  foolishness  and 
sin,  to  seek  out  any  such,  whether  secular  or  reli- 
gious. Hence  gaming  is  so  great  an  offence ;  as 
being  a  presumptuous  creation  on  our  part  of  a 
serious,  if  not  an  overpowering  temptation  to  fix  the 
heart  upon  an  object  of  this  world.  Hence,  the 
mischief  of  many  amusements  of  (what  is  called)  the 
fashion  of  the  day ;  which  are  devised  for  the  very 
purpose  of  taking  up  the  thoughts,  and  making 
time  pass  easy.  Quite  contrary  is  the  Christian 
temper,  which  is  in  its  perfect  and  peculiar  enjoy- 
ment when  engaged  in  that  ordinary,  unvaried 
course  of  duties  which  God  assigns,  and  which  the 
world  calls  dull  and  tiresome.  To  get  up  day  after 
day  to  the  same  employments,  and  to  feel  happy 
in  them,  is  the  great  lesson  of  the  Gospel ;  and, 
when  exemplified  in  those  who  are  alive  to  the 
temptation  of  being  busy,  it  implies  a  heart  weaned 
from  the  love  of  this  world.  True  it  is,  that  illness 
of  body,  as  well  as  restlessness  of  mind,  may  occa- 
sionally render  such  a  life  a  burden ;  it  is  true  also, 
that  indolence,  self-indulgence,  timidity,  and  other 
similar  bad  habits,  may  indulge  in  it  by  prefer- 
ence, as  a  pretext  for  neglecting  more  active  duties. 
Men  of  energetic  minds  and  talents  for  action  are 


lAA, 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  393 

called  to  a  life  of  trouble  ;  they  are  the  compensa- 
tions and  antagonists  of  the  world's  evils  :  still  let 
them  never  forget  their  place  ;  they  are  men  of  war, 
and  we  war  that  we  may  obtain  peace.  They  are 
but  men  of  war,  honoured  indeed  by  God's  choice, 
and  in  spite  of  all  momentary  excitements,  resting 
in  the  depth  of  their  hearts  upon  the  One  True 
Vision  of  Christian  faith ;  still  after  all,  they  are  but 
soldiers  in  the  open  field,  not  builders  of  the  Temple, 
nor  inhabitants  of  those  "  amiable"  and  specially 
blessed  "  Tabernacles"  where  the  worshipper  lives 
in  praise  and  intercession,  and  is  militant  amid  the 
unostentatious  duties  of  ordinary  life.  "  Martha, 
Martha,  thou  art  anxious  and  troubled  about  many 
things;  but  one  thing  is  needful,  and  Mary  has 
chosen  that  good  part  which  shall  not  be  taken 
away  from  her '."  Such  is  our  Lord's  judgment,  Jcit  ^^*{>  I 
showing  that  our  true  happiness  consists  in  being 
at  leisure  to  serve  God  without  excitements.  For 
this  gift  we  especially  pray  in  one  of  our  Collects : 
"  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  the  course  of  this  world  may 
be  so  peaceably  ordered  by  Thy  governance,  that 
Thy  Church  may  joyfully  serve  Thee  in  all  godly 
quietness  ^."  Persecution,  civil  changes,  and  the 
like,  break  in  upon  the  Church's  calm.  The  great- 
est privilege  of  a  Christian  is  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  worldly  politics, — to  be  governed  and  to  sub- 
mit   obediently;   and,   though  here   again,  selfish- 

'  Luke  X.  41,  42.  '  Vid.  1  Tim.  ii.  2. 


394  ST.  MATTHEW.  [Sebm. 

ness  may  creep  in,  and  lead  a  man  to  neglect  public 
concerns  in  which  he  is  called  to  take  his  share, 
yet,  after  all,  such  participation  must  be  regarded 
as  a  duty,  scarcely  as  a  privilege,  as  the  fulfilment 
of  trusts  committed  to  him  for  the  good  of  others, 
not  as  the  enjoyment  of  rights,  (as  men  talk  in  these 
days  of  delusion,)  not  as  if  political  power  were  in 
itself  a  good. 

To  return  to  the  subject  immediately  before  us, 
I  say  then,  that  it  is  a  part  of  Christian  caution  to 
see  that  our  engagements  do  not  become  pursuits. 
Engagements  are  our  portion,  but  pursuits  are  for 
the  most  part  of  our  own  choosing.  We  may  be 
engaged  in  worldly  business,  without  pursuing 
worldly  objects ;  "  not  slothful  in  business,"  yet 
"  serving  the  Lord."  In  this  then  consists  the 
danger  of  the  pursuit  of  gain,  as  by  trade  and  the 
like.  It  is  the  most  common  and  widely  extended 
of  all  excitements.  It  is  one  in  which  every  one 
almost  may  indulge,  nay,  and  will  be  praised  by  the 
world  for  indulging.  And  it  lasts  through  life ;  in 
that  differing  from  the  amusements  and  pleasures  of 
the  world,  which  are  short-lived,  and  succeed  one 
after  another.  Dissipation  of  mind,  which  these 
amusements  create,  is  itself  indeed,  miserable 
enough ;  but  far  worse  than  this  dissipation  is  the 
concentration  of  mind  upon  some  worldly  object, 
which  admits  of  being  constantly  pursued, — and 
such  is  the  pursuit  of  gain.  Nor  is  it  a  slight  aggra- 
vation of  the  evil,  that  anxiety  is  almost  sure  to 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  395 

attend  it.  A  life  of  money-getting  is  a  life  of  care ; 
from  the  first  there  is  a  fearful  anticipation  of  loss 
in  various  ways  to  depress  and  unsettle  the  mind, 
nay  to  haunt  it,  till  a  man  finds  he  can  think  about 
nothing  else,  and  is  unable  to  give  his  mind  to  reli-  ] 
gion  from  the  constant  whirl  of  business  in  which  I 
he  is  involved.  It  is  well  this  should  be  understood. 
You  may  hear  men  talk  as  if  the  pursuit  of  wealth 
was  the  business  of  life.  They  will  argue  that  by 
the  law  of  nature  a  man  is  bound  to  gain  a  liveli- 
hood for  his  family,  and  that  he  finds  a  reward  in 
doing  so,  an  innocent  and  honourable  satisfaction,  as 
he  adds  one  sum  to  another,  and  counts  up  his  gains. 
And  i^erhaps  they  go  on  to  argue,  that  it  is  the  very 
duty  of  man  since  Adam's  fall,  "  in  the  sweat  of  his 
face,"  by  effort  and  anxiety,  "  to  eat  bread."  How 
strange  it  is  that  they  do  not  remember  Christ's 
gracious  promise,  repealing  that  original  curse,  and 
obviating  the  necessity  of  any  real  pursuit  after  "  the 
meat  that  perisheth  !"  In  order  that  we  might  be 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  He  has 
expressly  told  us  that  the  necessaries  of  life  shall 
never  fail  his  faithful  follower,  any  more  than  the 
meal  and  oil  the  widow-woman  of  Sarepta;  that, 
while  he  is  bound  to  labour  for  his  family,  he  need 
not  be  engrossed  by  his  toil, — that  while  he  is  busy, 
his  heart  may  be  at  leisure  for  his  Lord.  "  Be  not 
anxious,  saying,  what  shall  we  eat?  or,  what  we 
shall  drink  ?  or  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ? 
For  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek ;  for 

2 


396  ST.  MA'ITHEW.  [Serm. 

your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need 
of  all  these  things.  But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  His  righteousness ;  and  all  these  things 
shall  be  added  unto  you."  Here  is  revealed  to  us  at 
once  our  privilege  and  our  duty,  the  Christian  por- 
tion of  having  engagements  of  this  world  without 
pursuing  objects.  And  in  accordance  with  our  Di- 
vine Teacher  are  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  intro- 
ductory of  a  passage  already  cited.  "  We  brought 
nothing  into  this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can 
carry  nothing  out.  And  having  food  and  raiment, 
let  us  be  therewith  content  ^"  There  is  no  excuse 
then  for  that  absorbing  pursuit  of  wealth,  which 
many  men  indulge  in,  as  if  a  virtue,  and  expatiate 
upon  as  if  a  science.  "  After  all  these  things  do  the 
Gentiles  seek  !"  Consider  how  different  is  the  rule 
of  life  left  us  by  the  Apostles.  "  I  speak  this  for 
your  own  profit,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  that  ye  may  attend 
upon  the  Lord  without  distraction."  "  This  I  say, 
brethren,  the  time  is  short ;  it  remaineth,  that  both 
they  that  have  wives  be  as  though  they  had  none, 
and  they  that  weep  as  though  they  wept  not,  and 
they  that  rejoice  as  though  they  rejoiced  not,  and 
they  that  buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not,  and 
they  that  use  this  world,  as  not  abusing  it,  for  the 
fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."  "  Be  anxious 
for  nothing ;  but  in  every  thing,  by  prayer  and  sup- 
plication with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be 

'  Matt.  vi.       1  Tim.  vi.  7,  8. 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  397 

made  known  unto  God."     And  St.  Peter,  "  Casting 
all  your  anxiety  upon  Him,  for  He  careth  for  you  ^" 

I  have  now  given  the  main  reason,  why  the  pur- 
suit of  gain,  whether  in  a  large  or  small  way,  is 
prejudicial  to  our  spiritual  interests,  that  it  fixes  the 
mind  upon  an  object  of  this  world;  yet  others 
remain  behind.  Money  is  a  sort  of  creation,  and 
gives  the  acquirer,  even  more  than  the  possessor,  an 
imagination  of  his  own  power ;  and  tends  to  make 
him  idolize  self  Again,  what  we  have  hardly  won, 
we  are  unwilling  to  part  with ;  so  that  a  man  who 
has  himself  made  his  wealth,  will  commonly  be 
penurious,  or  at  least  will  not  part  with  it  except  in 
exchange  for  what  will  reflect  credit  upon  liimself, 
or  increase  his  importance.  Even  when  his  con- 
duct is  most  disinterested  and  amiable,  (as  in 
spending  for  the  comfort  of  those  who  depend  on 
him,)  still  this  indulgence  of  self,  of  pride  and 
worldliness,  insinuates  itself.  Very  unlikely  there- 
fore is  it  that  he  should  be  liberal  towards  God ; 
for  religious  offerings  are  an  expenditure  without 
sensible  return,  and  that  upon  objects  for  which 
the  very  pursuit  of  wealth  has  indisposed  his  mind. 
Moreover,  if  it  may  be  added,  there  is  a  consi- 
derable tendency  in  occupations  connected  with 
gain  to  make  a  man  unfair  in  his  dealings,  that  is, 
in  a  subtle  way.  There  are  so  many  conventional  ' 
deceits  and   prevarications   in   the  details   of  the 

•  1  Cor.  vii.  29—31.  35.     Phil.  iv.  6.     1  Pet.  v.  7. 


398  ST.  MATTHEW.  J^Serm. 

world's  business,  so  much  intricacy  in  the  manage- 
ment of  accounts,  so  many  perplexed  questions 
about  justice  and  equity,  so  many  plausible  subter- 
fuges and  fictions  of  law,  so  much  confusion  between 
the  distinct  yet  approximating  outlines  of  honesty 
and  civil  enactment,  that  it  requires  a  very  straight- 
forward mind  to  keep  firm  hold  of  strict  conscienti- 
ousness, honour  and  truth,  and  to  look  at  matters 
in  which  he  is  engaged,  as  he  would  have  looked  on 
jthem,  supposing  he  now  came  upon  them  all  at 
pnce  as  a  stranger. 

And  if  such  be  the  effect  of  the  pursuit  of  gain 
on  an  individual,  doubtless  it  will  be  the  same  on  a 
nation ;  and  if  the  peril  be  so  great  in  the  one  case, 
why  should  it  be  less  in  the  other  ?  Rather  consi- 
dering that  the  tendencies  of  things  are  sure  to  be 
brought  out,  where  time  and  numbers  allow  them 
fair  course,  is  it  not  certain  that  any  multitude,  any 
society  of  men,  whose  object  is  gain,  will  on  the 
whole  be  actuated  by  those  feelings,  and  moulded 
into  that  character,  which  has  been  above  described  ? 
With  this  thought  before  us,  it  is  a  very  fearful 
consideration  that  we  belong  to  a  nation  which  in 
good  measure  subsists  by  making  money.  I  will  not 
pursue  it ;  nor  inquire  whether  the  especial  political 
evils  of  the  day  have  not  their  root  in  that  principle, 
which  St.  Paul  calls  the  root  of  all  evil,  the  love  of 
money.  Only  let  us  consider  the  fact,  that  we  are 
money-making  people,  with  our  Saviour's  declara- 
tions before  us  against  wealth,  and  trust  in  wealth ; 


XXVIII.]  DANGER  OF  RICHES.  399 

and  we   shall  have   abundant  matter   for   serious 
thought. 

Lastly,  with  this  dreary  view  before  us  of  our 
condition  and  prospects  as  a  nation,  the  pattern  of 
St.  Matthew  is  our  consolation;  for  it  suggests 
that  we,  Christ's  ministers,  may  use  great  freedom 
of  speech,  and  state  unreservedly  the  peril  of  wealth 
and  gain,  without  aught  of  harshness  or  uncharita- 
bleness  towards  individuals  who  are  exposed  to  it. 
They  may  be  brethren  of  the  Evangelist,  who  left 
all  for  Christ's  sake.  Nay  such  there  have  been 
(blessed  be  God !)  in  every  age ;  and  in  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  the  temptation  which  surrounds 
them,  is  their  blessedness  and  their  praise,  if  they 
are  enabled  amid  the  "  wares  of  the  seas  "  and  the 
"  great  wisdom  of  their  traffick"  to  hear  Christ's 
voice,  to  take  up  their  Cross,  and  follow  Him. 


SERMON    XXIX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  MICHAEL  AND  ALL  ANGELS. 
THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE. 


Psalm  civ.  4. 
Who  maketh  His  Angels  spirits,  His  Ministers  a  flaming  fire. 

On  to-day's  Festival  it  well  becomes  us  to  direct 
our  minds  to  the  thought  of  those  Blessed  Servants 
of  God,  who  have  never  tasted  of  sin ;  who  are 
among  us,  though  unseen,  ever  serving  God  joy- 
fully on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven ;  who  minister, 
through  their  Maker's  condescending  will,  to  the 
redeemed  in  Christ,  the  heirs  of  salvation. 

There  have  been  ages  of  the  world,  in  which  men 
have  thought  too  much  of  Angels,  and  paid  them 
excessive  honour ;  honoured  them  so  perversely  as 
to  forget  the  supreme  worship  due  to  Almighty 
God.  This  is  the  sin  of  a  dark  age.  But  the  sin 
of  what  is  called  an  educated  age,  such  as  our  own, 
is  just  the  reverse  ;  to  account  slightly  of  them,  or 


Serm.  XXIX.]        THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE.  401 

not  at  all,  to  ascribe  all  we  see  around  us,  not  to 
their  agencj,  but  to  certain  assumed  laws  of  nature. 
This,  I  say,  is  likely  to  be  our  sin,  in  proportion  as 
we  are  initiated  into  the  learning  of  this  world  ; — 
and  this  is  the  danger  of  many  (so  called)  philoso- 
phical pursuits,  now  in  fashion,  and  recommended 
zealously  to  the  notice  of  large  portions  of  the  com- 
munity, hitherto  strangers  to  them, — chemistry, 
geology,  and  the  like ;  the  danger,  that  is,  of  rest- 
ing in  things  seen,  and  forgetting  unseen  things, 
and  our  ignorance  about  them. 

I  will  attempt  to  say  what  I  mean  more  at  length. 
The  text  informs  us  that  Almighty  God  makes  His 
Angels  spirits  or  winds,  and  His  Ministers  a  flame 
of  fire.     Let  us  consider  what  is  implied  in  this. 

1.  What  a  number  of  beautiful  and  wonderful 
objects  does  Nature  present  on  every  side  of  us ! 
and  how  little  we  know  concerning  them  !  In  some 
indeed  we  see  symptoms  of  intelligence,  and  we 
get  to  form  some  idea  of  what  they  are.  For  in- 
stance, about  brute  animals  we  know  little,  but  still 
we  see  they  have  sense,  and  we  understand  that 
their  bodily  form  which  meets  the  eye  is  but  the  in- 
dex, the  outside  token  of  something  we  do  not  see. 
Much  more  in  the  case  of  men ;  we  see  them  move, 
speak,  and  act,  and  we  know  that  all  we  see  takes 
place  in  consequence  of  their  will,  because  they  have 
a  spirit  within  them,  though  we  do  not  see  it.  But 
why  do  rivers  flow  ?  Why  does  rain  fall  ?  Why  does 
the  sun  warm  us  ?     And  the  wind,  why  does  it  blow  ? 

VOL.  II.  D   d 


402  ST.  MICHAEL.  [Serm. 

Here  our  natural  reason  is  at  fault ;  we  know,  I 
say,  that  it  is  the  spirit  in  man  and  in  beast  that 
makes  man  and  beast  move,  but  reason  tells  us  of 
no  spirit  abiding  in  what  is  commonly  called  the 
natural  world,  to  make  it  perform  its  ordinary 
duties.  Of  course,  it  is  God's  will  which  sustains  it 
all ;  so  does  God's  will  enable  us  to  move  also,  yet 
this  does  not  hinder,  but,  in  one  sense,  we  may 
be  truly  said  to  move  ourselves;  but  how  do 
the  wind  and  water,  earth  and  fire  move  ?  Now 
here  Scripture  interposes,  and  seems  to  tell  us, 
that  all  this  wonderful  harmony  is  the  work  of 
Angels.  Those  events  which  we  ascribe  to  chance 
as  the  weather,  or  to  nature  as  the  seasons,  are 
duties  done  to  that  God  who  maketh  His  Angels  to 
be  winds,  and  His  Ministers  a  flame  of  fire.  For 
example,  it  was  an  Angel  which  gave  to  the  pool 
at  Bethesda  its  medicinal  quality ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  doubt  that  other  health- 
springs  in  this  and  other  countries  are  made  such 
by  a  like  unseen  ministry.  The  fires  on  Mount 
Sinai,  the  thunders  and  lightnings,  were  the  work 
of  Angels ;  and  in  the  Apocalypse  we  read  of  the 
Angels  restraining  the  four  winds.  Works  of  ven- 
geance are  likewise  attributed  to  them.  The 
fiery  lava  of  the  volcanoes,  which  (as  it  appears) 
was  the  cause  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah's  ruin,  was 
caused  by  the  two  angels  who  rescued  Lot.  The 
hosts  of  Sennacherib  were  destroyed  by  an  Angel, 
by  means  (it  is  supposed)  of  a  suffocating  wind. 


XXIX.]  THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE.  403 

The  pestilence  in  Israel  when  David  numbered 
the  people,  was  the  work  of  an  Angel.  The 
earthquake  at  the  resurrection  was  the  work  of 
an  Angel.  And  in  the  Apocalypse  the  earth 
is  smitten  in  various  ways  by  Angels  of  ven- 
geance '. 

Thus,  as  far  as  the  Scripture  communications 
go,  we  learn  that  the  course  of  Nature  which  is  so 
wonderful,  so  beautiful,  and  so  fearful,  is  effected 
by  the  ministry  of  these  unseen  beings.  Nature  is 
not  inanimate ;  its  daily  toil  is  intelligent ;  its 
works  are  dviies.  Accordingly,  the  Psalmist  says, 
"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  His  handy-work."  "  O  Lord, 
Thy  word  endureth  for  ever  in  heaven.  Thy  truth 
also  remaineth  from  one  generation  to  another; 
Thou  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  it 
abideth.  They  continue  this  day  according  to 
Thine  ordinance,  for  all  things  serve  Thee  ^." 

I  do  not  pretend  to  say,  that  we  are  told  in 
Scripture  what  Matter  is  ;  but  I  affirm,  that  as  our 
souls  move  our  bodies,  be  our  bodies  what  they 
may,  so  there  are  Spiritual  Intelligences  which 
move  those  wonderful  and  vast  portions  of  the 
natural  world,  which  seem  to  be  inanimate ;  and, 
as  the   gestures,    speech,   and   expressive   counte- 

*  John  V.  4.  Exod.  xix.  16 — 18.  Gal.  iii.  19.  Acts  vii.  53. 
Rev.  vii.  1.  Gen.  xix.  13.  2  Kings  xix.  35.  2  Sam.  xxiv. 
15 — 17.     Matt,  xxviii.  2.     Rev.  viii.  ix.  xvi. 

*  Psa.  xix.  1.  cxix.  89 — 91. 

D   d    2 


404  ST.  MICHAEL.  [Serm. 

nance  of  our  friends  around  us  enable  us  to  hold 
intercourse  with  them,  so  in  the  motions  of  universal 
Nature,  in  the  interchange  of  day  and  night,  sum- 
mer and  winter,  wind  and  storm,  fulfilling  His 
word,  we  are  reminded  of  the  blessed  and  dutiful 
Angels.  Well  then,  on  this  day's  Festival,  may 
we  sing  the  hymn  of  those  Three  Holy  Children 
whom  Nebuchadnezzar  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace. 
The  Angels  were  bid  change  the  nature  of  the 
flame,  and  make  it  harmless  to  them  ;  and  they  in 
turn  called  on  all  the  creatures  of  God,  on  the 
Angels  especially,  to  glorify  Him.  Though  many 
hundreds  of  years  have  passed  since  that  time,  and 
the  world  now  vainly  thinks  it  knows  more  than  it 
did,  and  that  it  has  found  the  real  causes  of  the 
things  it  sees,  still  may  we  say  with  grateful  and 
simple  hearts,  "  O  all  ye  works  of  the  Lord,  O  ye 
Angels  of  the  Lord,  O  ye  sun  and  moon,  stars  of 
heaven,  showers  and  dew,  winds  of  God,  light  and 
darkness,  mountains  and  hills,  green  things  upon 
the  earth,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  praise  Him,  and 
magnify  Him  for  ever."  Thus,  whenever  we  look 
abroad,  we  are  reminded  of  those  most  gracious 
and  holy  Beings,  the  servants  of  the  Holiest,  who 
deign  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation.  Every 
breath  of  air  and  ray  of  light  and  heat,  every 
beautiful  prospect,  is,  as  it  were,  the  skirts  of  their 
garments,  the  waving  of  the  robes  of  those,  whose 
faces  see  God  in  heaven.  And  I  put  it  to  any  one, 
whether  it  is  not  as  philosophical,  and  as  full  of  in- 


XXIX.]  THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE.  405 

tellectual  enjoyment,  to  refer  the  movements  of  tLe 
natm-al  world  to  them,  as  to  attempt  to  explain 
them  by  certain  theories  of  science ;  useful  as  these 
theories  certainly  are  for  particular  purposes,  and 
capable  (in  subordination  to  that  higher  view)  of  a 
religious  application? 

2.  And  thus  I  am  led  to  another  use  of  the 
doctrine  under  consideration.  While  it  raises  the 
mind,  and  gives  it  matter  of  thought,  it  is  also 
profitable  as  a  humbling  doctrine,  as  indeed  I 
have  already'  shown.  Vain  man  would  be  wise, 
and  he  curiously  examines  the  works  of  Nature,  as 
if  they  were  lifeless  and  senseless ;  as  if  he  alone 
had  intelligence,  and  they  were  base  inert  matter, 
however  curiously  contrived  at  the  first.  So  he 
goes  on,  tracing  the  order  of  things,  seeking  for 
Causes  in  that  order,  giving  names  to  the  wonders 
he  meets  with,  and  thinking  he  understands  what 
he  has  given  a  name  to.  At  length  he  forms  a 
theory,  and  recommends  it  in  writing,  and  calls 
himself  a  philosopher.  Now  all  these  theories  of 
science,  which  I  speak  of,  are  useful,  as  classifying, 
and  so  assisting  us  to  recollect,  the  works  and  ways 
of  God  and  of  His  ministering  Angels.  And  again, 
they  are  ever  most  useful,  in  enabling  us  to  apply 
the  course  of  His  providence,  and  the  ordinances 
of  His  will  to  the  benefit  of  man.  Thus  we  are 
enabled  to  enjoy  God's  gifts;  and  let  us  thank 
Him  for  the  knowledge  which  enables  us  to  do  so, 
and  honour  those  who  are  His  instruments  in  com- 


406  ST.  MICHAEL.  [Serm. 

municating  it.  But  if  such  a  one  proceeds  to  ima- 
gine that,  because  he  knows  something  of  this 
world's  wonderful  order,  he  therefore  knows  how 
things  really  go  on,  if  he  treats  the  miracles  of 
Nature  (so  to  call  them)  as  mere  mechanical  pro- 
cesses, continuing  their  course  by  themselves, — as 
works  of  man's  contriving  (a  clock,  for  instance,)  are 
set  in  motion,  and  go  on,  as  it  were,  of  themselves, 
— if  in  consequence  he  is,  what  may  be  called,  irre- 
verent in  his  conduct  towards  Nature,  thinking  (if 
I  may  so  speak)  that  it  does  not  hear  him,  and  see 
how  he  is  bearing  himself  towards  it ;  and,  if  more- 
over he  conceives  that  the  Order  of  Nature,  which  he 
partially  discerns,  will  stand  in  the  place  of  the  God 
who  made  it,  and  that  all  things  continue  and  move 
on,  not  by  His  will  and  power,  and  the  agency  of 
the  thousands  and  ten  thousands  of  His  unseen 
Servants,  but  by  fixed  laws,  self-caused  and  self- 
sustained,  what  a  poor  weak  worm,  and  miserable 
sinner  he  becomes  !  Yet  such,  I  fear,  is  the  con- 
dition of  many  men  now-a-days,  who  talk  loudly, 
and  appear  to  themselves  and  others  to  be  oracles 
of  science,  and  as  far  as  the  detail  of  facts  goes,  do 
know  much  more  about  the  operations  of  Nature 
than  any  of  us. 

Now  let  us  consider  what  the  real  state  of  the 
case  is.  Supposing  the  inquirer  I  have  been 
describing,  when  examining  a  flower,  or  a  herb, 
or  a  pebble,  or  a  ray  of  light,  which  he  treats 
as  something  so  beneath  him  in  the  scale  of  exist- 


XXIX.]  THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE.  407 

ence,  suddenly  discovered  that  he  was  in  the  pre- 
sence of  some  powerful  being  who  was  hidden 
behind  the  visible  things  he  was  inspecting,  who, 
though  concealing  his  wise  hand,  was  giving  them 
their  beauty,  grace  and  perfection,  as  being  God's 
instrument  for  the  purpose,  nay  whose  robe  and 
ornaments  those  wondrous  objects  were,  which  he 
was  so  eager  to  analyze,  what  would  be  his 
thoughts?  Should  we  but  accidentally  show  a 
rudeness  of  manner  towards  our  fellow  man,  tread 
on  the  hem  of  his  garment,  or  brush  roughly 
against  him,  are  we  not  vexed,  not  as  if  we  had 
hurt  him,  but  from  the  fear  we  may  have  been  dis- 
respectful ?  David  had  watched  the  awful  pestilence 
three  days,  not  with  curious  eyes,  but  doubtless 
with  indescribable  terror  and  remorse ;  but,  when 
at  length  he  "  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  saw  the 
Angel  of  the  Lord,"  (who  caused  the  pestilence) 
"  stand  between  the  earth  and  the  heaven,  having  a 
drawn  sword  in  his  hand  stretched  out  over  Jeru- 
salem, then  David  and  the  elders,  who  were  clothed 
in  sackcloth,  fell  upon  their  faces  \"  The  mys- 
terious irresistible  pestilence  became  still  more 
fearful  when  the  cause  was  known ; — and  what  is 
true  of  the  painful,  is  true  on  the  other  hand  of 
the  pleasant  and  attractive  operations  of  Nature. 
When  then  we  walk  abroad,  and  "  meditate  in  the 
field  at  the  eventide,"  how  much  has  every  herb  and 

'  1  Chron.  xxi.  16. 


408  ST.  MICHAEL.  [Serm. 

flower  in  it  to  surprise  and  overwhelm  us !  For, 
even  did  we  know  as  much  about  them  as  the 
wisest  of  men,  yet  there  are  those  around  us, 
though  unseen,  to  whom  our  greatest  knowledge  is 
as  ignorance ;  and,  when  we  converse  on  subjects 
of  Nature  scientifically,  repeating  the  names  of 
plants  and  earths,  and  describing  their  properties, 
we  should  do  so  religiously,  as  in  the  hearing  of 
the  great  Servants  of  God,  with  the  sort  of  diffi- 
dence which  we  always  feel  when  speaking  before 
the  learned  and  wise  of  our  own  mortal  race,  as 
poor  beginners  in  intellectual  knowledge,  as  well 
as  in  moral  attainments. 

Now  I  can  conceive  persons  saying  all  this  is  fan- 
ciful ;  but  if  it  appears  so,  it  is  only  because  we  are 
not  accustomed  to  such  thoughts.  Surely  we  are 
not  told  in  Scripture  about  the  Angels  for  nothing, 
but  for  practical  purposes;  nor  can  I  conceive  a 
use  of  our  knowledge  more  practical  than  to  make 
it  connect  the  sight  of  this  world  with  the  thought 
of  another.  Nor  one  more  consolatory  ;  for  surely 
it  is  a  great  comfort  to  reflect  that,  wherever  we 
go,  we  have  those  about  us,  who  are  ministering  to 
all  the  heirs  of  salvation,  though  we  see  them  not. 
Nor  one  more  easily  to  be  understood  and  felt  by 
all  men ;  for  we  know  that  at  one  time  the  doctrine 
of  Angels  was  received  even  too  readily.  And  if 
any  one  would  argue  hence  against  it  as  dangerous, 
let  him  recollect  the  great  principle  of  our  Church, 
that  the  abuse  of  a  thing  does  not  supersede  the 


XXIX.J  THE  POWERS  OF  NATURE.  409 

use  of  it ;  and  let  him  explain,  if  he  can,  St.  Paul's 
exhorting  Timothy  not  only  as  "  before  God  and 
Christ,"  but  before  "the  elect  Angels"  also.  Hence, 
in  the  Communion  Service  our  Church  teaches  us 
to  join  our  praises  with  that  of  "  Angels  and  Arch- 
angels, and  all  the  Company  of  heaven ;"  and  the 
early  Christians  even  hoped  that  they  waited  on  the 
Church's  seasons  of  worship,  and  glorified  God  with 
her.  Nor  are  these  thoughts  without  their  direct 
influence  on  our  faith  in  God  and  His  Son ;  for  the 
more  we  can  enlarge  our  view  of  the  next  world, 
the  better.  When  we  survey  Almighty  God  sur- 
rounded by  His  Holy  Angels,  His  thousand  thou- 
sands of  ministering  Spirits,  and  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  standing  before  Him,  the  idea  of  His 
awful  Majesty  rises  before  us  more  powerfully  and 
impressively.  We  begin  to  see  how  little  we  are, 
how  altogether  mean  and  worthless  in  ourselves, 
and  how  high  He  is,  and  fearful.  The  very  lowest 
of  His  Angels  is  indefinitely  above  us  in  this  our 
present  state  ;  how  high  then  must  be  the  Lord  of 
Angels !  The  very  Seraphim  hide  their  faces  before 
His  glory,  while  they  praise  Him ;  how  shame- 
faced then  should  sinners  be,  when  they  come  into 
His  presence ! 

Lastly,  it  is  a  motive  to  our  exertions  in  doing 
the  will  of  God,  to  think  that,  if  we  attain  to 
heaven,  we  shall  become  the  fellows  of  the  blessed 
Angels.  Indeed  what  do  we  know  of  the  courts  of 
heaven,  but  as   peopled  by  them?    and   therefore 


410  ST.  MICHAEL.  (Serm.  XXIX. 

doubtless,  they  are  revealed  to  us,  that  we  may  have 
something  to  fix  our  thoughts  on,  when  we  look 
heavenwards.  Heaven  indeed  is  the  palace  of 
Almighty  God,  and  of  Him  doubtless  we  must 
think  in  the  first  place ;  and  again  of  His  Son  our 
Saviour,  who  died  for  us,  and  who  is  manifested  in 
the  Gospels,  in  order  that  we  may  liave  something 
definite  to  look  forward  to:  for  the  same  cause, 
surely,  the  Angels  also  are  revealed  to  us,  that 
heaven  may  be  as  little  as  possible  an  unknown 
place  in  our  imaginations. 

Let  us  then  entertain  such  thoughts  as  these  of 
the  Angels  of  God ;  and  while  we  try  to  think  of 
them  worthily,  let  us  beware  lest  we  make  the  con- 
templation of  them  a  mere  feeling,  and  a  sort  of 
luxury  of  the  imagination.     This  world  is  to  be  a 
world  of  practice  and  labour ;  God  reveals  to  us 
glimpses  of  the  Third  Heaven  for  our  comfort ;  but 
if  we  indulge  in  these  as  the  end  of  our  present  being, 
not  trying  day  by  day  to  purify  ourselves  for  the 
future  enjoyment  of  the  realities,  they  become  but 
a  snare  of  our  enemy.     The  Services  of  religion, 
day  by  day,  obedience  to  God  in  our  calling  and  in 
ordinary  matters,  endeavours  to  imitate  our  Saviour 
Christ  in  word  and  deed,  constant  prayer  to  Him, 
and  dependence  on  Him,  these  are  the  due  prepara- 
tion for  receiving  and  profiting  by  His  revelations ; 
whereas  many  a  man  can  write  and  talk  beauti- 
fully about  them,  who  is  not  at  all  better  or  nearer 
heaven  for  all  his  excellent  words.    ^.       -t    ^a  i  a  *] 


SERMON  XXX. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  LUKE  THE  EVANGELIST. 
THE  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 


ExoD.  xxxi.  6. 
In  the  hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted,  T  have  put  wisdom. 

St.  Luke  differed  from  his  fellow-evangelists  and 
disciples  in  having  received  the  advantages  of  (what 
is  called)  a  liberal  education.  In  this  respect  he 
resembled  St.  Paul,  who,  with  equal  accomplish- 
ments, appears  to  have  possessed  even  more  learn- 
ing. St.  Luke  is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Antioch,  a  city  celebrated  for  the  refined  habits  and 
cultivated  intellect  of  its  inhabitants ;  and  his  pro- 
fession was  that  of  a  physician  or  surgeon,  which  of 
itself  evidences  him  to  have  been  in  education 
something  above  the  generality  of  men.  Tliis  is 
confirmed  by  the  character  of  his  WTitings,  which 
are  superior  in  composition  to  any  part  of  the  New 
Testament,  excepting  some  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 

There  are  persons  who  doubt  whether  what  are 
called    "  accomplishments,"  whether   in   literature 

2 


412  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm. 

or  the  fine  arts,  can  be  consistent  with  deep  and 
practical  seriousness  of  mind.  They  think  that 
attention  to  these  argues  a  lightness  of  mind,  and 
at  least,  takes  up  time  which  might  be  better  em- 
ployed ;  and,  I  confess,  at  first  sight  they  seem  to 
be  able  to  say  much  in  defence  of  their  opinion. 
Yet,  notwithstanding,  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul  were 
accomplished  men,  and  evidently  took  pleasure  in 
their  accomplishments. 

I  am  not  speaking  of  human  learning ;  this  also 
many  men  think  inconsistent  with  simple  uncor- 
rupted  faith.  They  suppose  that  learning  must  make 
a  man  proud.  This  is  of  course  a  great  mistake  ; 
but  of  it  I  am  not  speaking,  but  of  an  over-jealousy 
of  accomplishments^  the  elegant  arts  and  studies, 
such  as  poetry,  literary  composition,  painting,  music, 
and  the  like ;  which  are  considered,  (not  indeed  to 
make  a  man  proud,  but)  to  make  him  trifling.  Of 
this  opinion,  how  far  it  is  true,  and  how  far  not  true, 
T  am  going  to  speak  ;  being  led  to  the  consideration 
of  it  by  the  known  fact,  that  St.  Luke  was  a  polished 
writer,  and  yet  an  Evangelist. 

Now,  that  the  accomplishments  I  speak  of  have 
a  tendency  to  make  us  trifling  and  unmanly,  and 
therefore,  are  to  be  viewed  by  each  of  us  with  sus- 
picion as  far  as  regards  himself,  I  am  ready  to 
admit,  and  shall  presently  make  clear.  I  allow, 
that  in  matter  of  fact,  refinement  and  luxury,  ele- 
gance and  effeminacy,  go  together.  Antioch,  the 
most   polished,   was  the  most  voluptuous  city  of 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  413 

Asia.  But  the  al)use  of  good  things  is  no  argument 
against  the  things  themselves;  mental  cultivation 
may  be  a  divine  gift,  though  it  is  abused.  All 
God's  gifts  are  perverted  by  man ;  health,  strength, 
intellectual  power,  are  all  turned  by  sinners  to  bad 
purposes,  yet  they  are  not  evil  in  themselves : 
therefore  an  acquaintance  with  the  elegant  arts 
may  be  a  gift  and  a  good,  and  intended  to  be  an 
instrument  of  God's  glory,  though  numbers  who 
have  it  are  rendered  thereby  indolent,  luxurious, 
and  feeble-minded. 

But  the  account  of  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness,  from  which  the  text  is  taken,  is 
decisive  on  this  point.  It  is  too  long  to  read  to 
you,  but  a  few  verses  will  remind  you  of  the  nature 
of  it.  "  Thou  shalt  speak  unto  all  that  are  wise- 
hearted,  whom  I  have  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  wis- 
dom, that  they  may  make  Aaron's  garments  to 
consecrate  him,  that  he  may  minister  unto  Me  in 
the  priest's  office."  "  See  I  have  called  by  name 
Bezaleel  .  .  .  and  have  filled  him  with  the  Spirit 
of  God,  in  wisdom,  and  in  understanding,  and  in 
knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship,  to 
devise  cunning  works,  to  work  in  gold,  and  in 
silver,  and  in  brass,  and  in  cutting  of  stones,  to  set 
them,  and  in  carving  of  timber,  to  work  all  manner 
of  workmanship."  "  Take  ye  from  among  you  an 
offering  unto  the  Lord ;  whosoever  is  of  a  willing 
heart  let  him  bring  it,  an  offering  of  the  Lord,  gold, 
and  silver,  and  brass,  and  blue,  and  purple,  and 


414  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm. 

scarlet,  and  fine  linen,  and  goats'  hair,  and  rams' 
skins  dyed  red,  and  badgers'  skins,  and  shittim 
wood,  and  oil  for  the  light,  and  spices  for  anointing 
oil,  and  for  the  sweet  incense,  and  onyx  stones,  and 
stones  to  be  set  for  the  ephod,  and  for  the  breast- 
plate. And  every  wise-hearted  among  you  shall 
come  and  make  all  that  the  Lord  hath  com- 
manded ^" 

How  then  is  it,  that  what  in  itself  is  of  so  excel- 
lent, and  (I  may  say)  divine  a  nature,  is  yet  so 
commonly  perverted  ?  I  proceed  to  state  what  is 
the  danger,  as  it  appears  to  me,  of  being  accom- 
plished, with  a  view  to  answer  this  question. 

Now,  the  danger  of  an  elegant  and  polite  educa- 
tion is,  that  it  separates  feeling  and  acting ;  it 
teaches  us  to  think,  speak,  and  be  affected  aright, 
without  forcing  us  to  practise  what  is  right.  I  will 
take  an  illustration  of  this,  though  somewhat  a 
familiar  one,  from  the  effect  produced  upon  the 
mind  by  reading  what  is  commonly  called  a  romance 
or  novel,  which  comes  under  the  description  of 
polite  literature,  of  which  I  am  speaking.  Such 
works  contain  many  good  sentiments  ;  (I  am  taking 
the  better  sort  of  them,)  characters  too  are  intro- 
duced, virtuous,  noble,  patient  under  suffering,  and 
triumphing  at  length  over  misfortune.  The  great 
truths  of  religion  are  upheld,  we  will  suppose,  and 
enforced  ;  and  our  affections  excited  and  interested 

'  Exod.  xxviii.  3.    xxxi.  2 — 5.    xxxv.  5 — 10. 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  415 

in  what  is  good  and  true.  But  it  is  all  fiction ;  it 
does  not  exist  out  of  a  book  which  contains  the 
beginning  and  end  of  it.  We  have  nothing  to  do ; 
we  read,  are  affected,  softened  or  roused,  and  that 
is  all ;  we  cool  again, — nothing  comes  of  it.  Now 
observe  the  effect  of  this.  God  has  made  us  feel 
in  order  that  we  may  go  on  to  act  in  consequence  of 
feeling ;  if  then  we  allow  our  feelings  to  be  excited 
without  acting  upon  them,  we  do  mischief  to  the 
moral  system  within  us,  just  as  we  might  spoil  a 
watch,  or  other  piece  of  mechanism,  by  playing 
with  the  wheels  of  it.  We  weaken  its  springs, 
and  they  cease  to  act  truly.  Accordingly,  when  we 
have  got  into  the  habit  of  amusing  ourselves  with 
these  works  of  fiction,  we  come  at  length  to  feel 
the  excitement  without  the  slightest  thought  or 
tendency  to  act  upon  it ;  and,  since  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  begin  any  duty  without  some  emotion  or 
other,  (that  is,  on  mere  principles  of  dry  reasoning,) 
a  grave  question  arises,  how,  after  destroying  the 
connection  between  feeling  and  acting,  how  shall 
we  get  ourselves  to  act  when  circumstances  make 
it  our  duty  to  do  so  ?  For  instance,  we  will  say  we 
have  read  again  and  again,  of  the  heroism  of  facing 
danger,  and  we  have  glowed  with  the  thought  of 
its  nobleness.  We  have  felt  how  great  it  is  to  bear 
pain,  and  submit  to  indignities,  rather  than  wound 
our  conscience ;  and  all  this,  again  and  again,  when 
we  had  no  opportunity  of  carrying  our  good  feel- 
ings into   practice.     Now,  suppose  at   length   we 


416  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm. 

actually  come  into  trial,  and  let  us  say,  our  feelings 
become  roused,  as  often  before,  at  the  thought  of 
boldly  resisting  temptations  to  cowardice,  shall  we 
therefore  do  our  duty,  quitting  ourselves  like  men? 
rather,  we  are  likely  to  talk  loudly,  and  then  run 
from  the  danger.  Why? — rather  let  us  ask,  why 
notf  what  is  to  keep  us  from  yielding?  Because 
yjQfeel  aright  ?  nay,  we  have  again  and  again  felt 
aright,  and  thought  aright,  without  accustoming 
ourselves  to  act  aright,  and,  though  there  was  an 
original  connexion  in  our  minds  between  feeling 
and  acting,  there  is  none  now ;  the  wires  within 
us,  as  they  may  be  called,  are  loosened  and 
powerless. 

And  what  is  here  instanced  of  fortitude,  is  true 
in  all  cases  of  duty.  The  refinement  which  litera- 
ture gives,  is  that  of  thinking,  feeling,  knowing 
and  speaking,  right,  not  of  acting  right ;  and  thus, 
while  it  makes  the  manners  amiable,  and  the  con- 
versation decorous  and  agreeable,  it  has  no  ten- 
dency to  make  the  conduct,  the  practice  of  the  man 
mrtuous. 

Observe,  I  have  supposed  the  works  of  fiction,  I 
speak  of,  to  inculcate  right  sentiments ;  though 
such  works  (play-books  for  example,)  are  often 
vicious  and  immoral.  But  even  at  best,  supposing 
them  well  principled,  still  after  all,  at  best,  they 
are,  I  say,  dangerous,  in  themselves ; — that  is,  if 
we  allow  refinement  to  stand  in  the  place  of  hardy, 
rough-handed  obedience.     It   follows,    that   I   am 


XXX.]          DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  417 

much  opposed  to  certain  religious  novels,  which 
some  persons  think  so  useful :  that  they  sometimes 
do  good,  I  am  far  from  denying ; — but  they  do  more 
harm  than  good.  They  do  harm  on  the  whole; 
they  lead  men  to  cultivate  the  religious  affections 
separate  from  religious  practice.  And  here  I  might 
speak  of  that  entire  religious  system,  (miscalled 
religious,)  which  makes  Christian  faith  consist,  not 
in  the  honest  and  plain  practice  of  what  is  right, 
but  in  the  luxury  of  excited  religious  feeling,  in  a 
mere  meditating  on  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  dwelling 
as  in  a  reverie  on  what  He  has  done  for  us ; — for 
such  indolent  contemplation  will  no  more  sanctify 
a  man  in  fact,  than  reading  a  poem  or  listening  to  a 
chant  or  psalm-tune. 

The  case  is  the  same  with  the  arts  last  alluded 
to,  poetry  and  music.  They  are  especially  likely  to 
make  us  unmanly,  if  we  are  not  on  our  guard,  as 
exciting  emotions  without  ensuring  correspondent 
practice,  and  so  destroying  the  connexion  between 
feeling  and  acting ;  for  I  here  mean  by  unmanliness 
the  inability  to  do  with  ourselves  what  we  wish, — 
the  saying  fine  things,  and  yet  lying  slothfully  on 
our  couch,  as  if  we  could  not  get  up,  though  we  ever 
so  much  wished  it. 

And  here  I  must  notice  something  besides  in  ele- 
gant accomplishments,  which  goes  to  make  us  over- 
refined  and  fastidious,  and  falsely  delicate.  In  books, 
every  thing  is  made  beautiful  in  its  way.  Pictures 
are  drawn  of  complete  virtue;  little  is  said  about 

VOL.  II.  E  e 


418  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm. 

failures,  and  little  or  nothing  of  the  drudgery  of 
ordinary,  every-day  obedience,  which  is  neither 
poetical  nor  interesting.  True  faith  teaches  to  do 
numberless  disagreeable  things  for  Christ's  sake,  to 
bear  petty  annoyances,  which  we  find  written  down 
in  no  book.  In  most  books  Christian  conduct  is 
made  grand,  elevated,  and  splendid;  so  that  any 
one,  who  only  knows  of  true  religion  from  books, 
)  and  not  from  actual  endeavours  to  be  religious,  is 
sure  to  be  offended  at  religion  when  he  actually 
comes  upon  it,  from  the  roughness  and  humbleness 
of  his  duties,  and  his  necessary  deficiencies  in  doing 
them.  It  is  beautiful  in  a  picture  to  wash  the  dis- 
ciples' feet ;  but  the  sands  of  the  real  desert  have 
no  comeliness  in  them  to  compensate  for  the  servile 
nature  of  the  occupation. 

And  further  still,  it  must  be  observed,  that  the 
art  of  composing,  which  is  a  chief  accomplishment, 
has  in  itself  a  tendency  to  make  us  artificial  and 
insincere.  For  to  be  ever  attending  to  the  fitness 
and  propriety  of  our  words,  is  (or  at  least  there  is 
the  risk  of  its  being)  a  kind  of  acting ;  and  knowing 
what  can  be  said  on  both  sides  of  a  subject,  is  a  main 
step  towards  thinking  the  one  side  as  good  as  the 
other.  Hence  men  in  ancient  times,  who  cultivated 
polite  literature,  became  what  were  called  "So- 
phists;" that  is,  men  who  wrote  elegantly,  and 
talked  eloquently,  on  any  subject  whatever,  right  or 
wrong.  St.  Luke  perchance  might  have  been  such 
a  Sophist,  had  he  not  been  a  Christian. 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  419 

Such  are  some  of  the  dangers  of  elegant  accom- 
plishments ;  and  they  beset  more  or  less  all  educated 
persons ;  and  of  these  perhaps  not  the  least  such 
females,  as  happen  to  have  no  very  direct  duties  and 
are  above  the  drudgery  of  common  life,  and  hence 
are  apt  to  become  fastidious  and  fine, — to  love  a 
luxurious  ease,  and  to  amuse  themselves  in  mere 
elegant  pursuits,  the  while  they  admire  and  profess 
what  is  religious  and  virtuous,  and  think  that  they 
really  possess  the  character  of  mind  which  they 
esteem. 

With  these  thoughts  before  us,  it  is  necessary  to 
look  back  to  the  Scripture  instances  which  I  began 
by  adducing,  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  accom- 
plishments are  positively  dangerous,  and  unworthy 
a  Christian.  But  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul  show  us, 
that  we  may  be  sturdy  workers  in  the  Lord's  ser- 
vice, and  bear  our  cross  manfully,  though  we  be 
adorned  with  all  the  learning  of  the  Egyptians,  or 
rather,  that  the  resources  of  literature,  and  the 
graces  of  a  cultivated  mind,  may  be  made  both  a 
lawful  source  of  enjoyment  to  the  possessor,  and  a 
means  of  introducing  and  recommending  the  Truth 
to  others ;  while  the  history  of  the  Tabernacle  shows 
that  all  the  cunning  arts,  and  precious  possessions 
of  this  world,  may  be  consecrated  to  a  religious 
service,  and  be  made  to  speak  of  the  world  to  come. 
I  conclude  then  with  the  following  cautions,  to 
which  the  foregoing  remarks  lead.  First,  we  must 
avoid  giving  too  much  time  to  lighter  occupations ; 

E  e  2 


420  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm. 

and  next,  we  must  never  allow  ourselves  to  read 
works  of  fiction  or  poetry,  or  to  interest  ourselves 
in  the  fine  arts  for  the  mere  sake  of  the  things 
themselves ;  but  keep  in  mind  all  along  that  we  are 
Christians  and  accountable  beings,  who  have  fixed 
principles  of  right  and  wrong,  by  which  all  things 
must  be  tried,  and  religious  habits  to  be  matured 
within  us,  towards  which  all  things  are  to  be  made 
subservient.  Nothing  is  more  common  among  ac- 
complished people,  than  the  habit  of  reading  books 
so  entirely  for  reading's  sake,  as  to  praise  and  blame 
the  actions  and  persons  described  in  a  random  way, 
according  to  their  fancy,  not  considering  whether 
they  are  really  good  or  bad  according  to  the  stand- 
ard of  moral  truth.  I  would  not  be  austere  «  but 
when  this  is  done  habitually,  surely  it  is  dangerous. 
Such  too  is  the  abuse  of  poetical  talent,  that  sacred 
gift.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  fall  into  the 
practice  of  uttering  fine  sentiments,  particularly  in 
letter  writing,  as  a  matter  of  course,  or  a  kind  of 
elegant  display.  Nothing  more  common  in  singing 
than  to  use  words  with  a  light  meaning,  or  a  bad 
one.  All  these  things  are  hurtful  to  seriousness  of 
character.  It  is  for  this  reason  (to  put  aside  others) 
that  the  profession  of  stage-players,  and  again  of 
orators,  is  a  dangerous  one.  They  learn  to  say  good 
things,  and  to  excite  in  themselves  vehement  feel- 
ings, about  nothing  at  all.  If  we  are  in  earnest, 
we  shall  let  nothing  lightly  pass  by  which  may  do 
us  good,  nor  shall  we  dare  to  trifle  with  such  sacred 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  421 

subjects  as  morality  and  religious  duty.  We  shall 
apply  all  we  read  to  ourselves;  and  this  almost 
without  intending  to  do  so,  from  the  mere  sincerity 
and  honesty  of  our  desire  to  please  God.  We 
shall  be  suspicious  of  all  such  good  thoughts  and 
wishes,  and  we  shall  shrink  from  all  such  exhibi- 
tion of  our  principles,  as  fall  short  of  action.  We 
shall  aim  at  doing  right,  and  so  glorifying  our  Fa- 
ther, and  shall  exhort  and  constrain  others  to  do  so 
also ;  but  as  for  talking  on  the  appropriate  subjects 
of  religious  meditation,  and  trying  to  show  piety, 
and  to  excite  corresponding  feelings  in  another, 
even  though  our  nearest  friend,  far  from  doing 
this,  we  shall  account  it  a  snare  and  a  mischief.  Yet 
this  is  what  many  persons  consider  the  highest  part 
of  religion,  and  call  it  spiritual  conversation,  the 
test  of  a  spiritual  mind ;  whereas,  putting  aside  the 
incipient  and  occasional  hypocrisy,  and  again  the 
immodesty  of  it,  I  call  all  formal  and  intentional 
expression  of  religious  emotions,  all  studied  pas- 
sionate discourse,  dissipation, — dissipation  the  same 
in  nature,  though  different  in  subject,  as  what  is 
commonly  so  called ;  for  it  is  a  drain  and  a  waste 
of  our  religious  and  moral  strength,  a  general  weak- 
ening of  our  spiritual  powers  (as  I  have  already 
shown)  and  all  for  what  ?  for  the  pleasure  of  the 
immediate  excitement.  Who  can  deny  this  reli- 
gious disorder  is  a  parallel  case  to  that  of  the  sen- 
sualist ?  Nay,  precisely  the  same  as  theirs,  from 
whom  the  religionists  in  question  think  themselves 


422  ST.  LUKE.  [Serm. 

very  far  removed,  of  the  fashionable  world  I  mean, 
who  read  works  of  fiction,  frequent  the  public 
shows,  are  ever  on  the  watch  for  novelties,  and 
affect  a  pride  of  manners  and  a  "  mincing  ^"  deport- 
ment, and  are  ready  with  all  kinds  of  good  thoughts 
and  keen  emotions  on  all  occasions. 

Of  all  such  as  abuse  the  decencies  and  elegancies 
of  moral  truth  into  a  means  of  luxurious  enjoyment, 
what  would  a  prophet  of  God  say?  Hear  the 
words  of  the  holy  Ezekiel,  that  stem  rough  man 
of  God,  a  true  Saint  in  the  midst  of  a  self-indul- 
gent high-professing  people.  "  Thou  son  of  man, 
the  children  of  thy  people  still  are  talking  against 
thee  by  the  walls  and  in  the  doors  of  the  houses, 
and  speak  one  to  another,  every  one  to  his  brother, 
saying,  Come,  I  pray  you,  and  hear  what  is  the 
word  that  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord.  And  they 
come  unto  thee  as  the  people  cometh,  and  they  sit 
before  thee  as  My  people,  and  they  hear  thy  words 
but  they  will  not  do  them ;  for  with  their  mouth 
they  show  much  love,  but'  their  heart  goeth  after 
their  covetousness.  And  lo,  thou  art  unto  them  as 
a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice, 
and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument :  for  they  hear 
thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not  ^" 

Or,  consider  St.  Paul's  words ;  which  are  still 
more  impressive,  because  he  was  himself  a  man  of 
learning  and  accomplishments,  and  took  pleasure, 

'  Is.  iii.  16.  *  Ezek.  xxxiii.  30-32. 


XXX.]  DANGER  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  423 

in  due  place,  in  the  pursuits  to  which  these  gave 
rise. 

"  Preach  the  word,  be  instant  in  season,  out  of 
season ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long-suf- 
fering and  doctrine.  For  the  time  will  come  when 
they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine,  but  after  their 
own  lusts  shall  they  heap  to  themselves  teachers, 
having  itching  ears.  And  they  shall  turn  away 
their  ears  from  the  Truth,  and  shall  be  turned  unto 
fables."     "  Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  / 

you  like  men,  be  strong '."  ^i     J(^    ^Y  /  ^ 

»  2  Tim.  iv.  2 — 4.      1  Cor.  xvi.  13. 


SERMON  XXXL 


THE  FEAST  OF  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.JUDE  THE  APOSTLES. 
CHRISTIAN  ZEAL. 


John  ii.  17. 
The  zeal  of  Thine  house  hath  eaten  Me  up. 

The  Apostles  commemorated  on  this  Festival,  direct 
our  attention  to  the  subject  of  Zeal,  which  I  propose 
to  consider,  under  our  Saviour's  guidance,  as  sug- 
gested by  the  text.  St.  Simon  is  called  Zelotes, 
which  means  the  Zealous  ;  a  title  given  him  (as  is 
supposed)  from  his  belonging  before  his  conversion 
to  the  Jewish  sect  of  Zealots,  which  professed  ex- 
traordinary Zeal  for  the  law.  Any  how,  the  appel- 
lation marks  him  as  distinguished  for  this  particular 
Christian  grace.  St.  Jude's  Epistle,  which  forms 
part  of  the  service  of  the  day,  is  almost  wholly  upon 
the  duty  of  manifesting  Zeal  for  Gospel  Truth, 
and  opens  with  a  direct  exhortation  to  "  contend 
earnestly  for  the  Faith  once  delivered  to  the  Saints." 
The  Collect  also  indirectly  reminds  us  of  the  same 


Sekm.XXXL]  christian  zeal.  425 

duty,  for  it  prays  that  all  the  members  of  the  Church 
may  be  united  in  spirit  by  the  Apostles'  doctrine ; 
and  what  are  these  but  the  words  of  Zeal,  viz.  of  a 
love  for  the  Truth  and  the  Church  so  strong  as  not 
to  allow  that  man  should  divide  what  God  hath 
joined  together? 

However,  it  will  be  a  more  simple  account  of 
Zeal,  to  call  it  the  earnest  desire  for  God's  honour, 
leading  to  strenuous  and  bold  deeds  in  His  behalf; 
and  that  in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  Thus  when 
Phinehas  stood  up  and  executed  judgment  in 
Israel,  he  was  zealous  for  God.  David  also,  in  his 
punishment  of  the  idolaters  round  about,  and  in  pre- 
paring for  the  building  of  the  Temple,  showed  his 
Zeal,  which  was  one  of  his  especial  virtues.  Elijah, 
when  he  assembled  the  Israelites  upon  Mount  Car- 
mel,  and  slew  the  prophets  of  Baal,  was  "  very 
zealous  for,  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts."  Hezekiah 
besides,  and  Josiah,  were  led  to  their  reformations 
in  religious  worship  by  an  admirable  Zeal ;  and  Ne- 
hemiah  too,  after  the  captivity,  who  with  the  very 
fire  and  sweetness  of  Gospel  Love  set  the  repentant 
nation  in  order  for  the  coming  of  Christ. 

1.  Now  Zeal  is  one  of  the  elementary  religious 
qualifications ;  that  is,  one  of  those  which  are 
essential  in  the  very  notion  of  a  religious  man.  A 
man  cannot  be  said  to  be  in  earnest  in  religion, 
till  he  magnifies  his  God  and  Saviour ;  till  he  so  far 
consecrates  and  exalts  the  thought  of  Him  in 
his  heart,  as  an   object  of  praise,  adoration,  and 


426  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

rejoicing  as  to  be  pained  and  grieved  at  dishonour 
shown  to  Him,  and  eager  to  avenge  Him.  In  a 
word,  a  religious  temper  is  one  of  loyalty  towards 
God ;  and  we  all  know  what  is  meant  by  being 
loyal  from  the  experience  of  civil  matters.  To  be 
loyal  is  not  merely  to  obey ;  but  to  obey  with 
promptitude,  energy,  dutifulness,  disinterested  de- 
votion, disregard  of  consequences.  And  such  is 
Zeal,  except  that  it  is  ever  attended  with  that 
reverential  feeling  which  is  due  from  a  creature 
and  a  sinner  towards  his  Maker,  and  towards 
Him  alone.  It  is  a  first  step  in  all  religious  service 
to  love  God  above  all  things  ;  now  Zeal  is  to  love 
Him  above  all  men,  above  our  dearest  and  most 
intimate  friends.  This  was  the  especial  praise  of 
the  Levites,  which  gained  them  the  reward  of  the 
Priesthood,  viz.  their  executing  judgment  on  the 
people  in  the  sin  of  the  golden  calf.  "  Let  Thy 
Thummim  and  Thy  Urim  be  with  Thy  Holy  One, 
whom  Thou  didst  prove  at  Massah,  and  with  whom 
Thou  didst  strive  at  the  waters  of  Meribah.  Who 
said  unto  his  father  and  to  his  mother,  I  have  not 
seen  him ;  neither  did  he  acknowledge  his  brethren, 
nor  knew  his  own  children  ;  for  they  have  observed 
Thy  word,  and  kept  Thy  covenant.  They  shall 
teach  Jacob  Thy  Judgments,  and  Israel  Thy  Law ; 
they  shall  put  incense  before  Thee,  and  whole 
burnt  sacrifice  upon  Thine  Altar.  Bless  Lord,  his 
substance,  and  accept  the  work  of  his  hands  ;  smite 
through  the  loins  of  them  that  rise  against  him. 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  427 

and  of  them  that  hate  him,  that  they  rise  not 
again."  Phinehas  was  rewarded  in  like  manner, 
after  executing  judgment.  "  Behold  I  give  unto 
him  My  covenant  of  peace.  And  he  shall  have  it, 
and  his  seed  after  him,  even  the  covenant  of  an  ever- 
lasting Priesthood,  because  he  was  zealous  for  his 
God  \"  Zeal  is  the  very  consecration  of  God's 
Ministers  to  their  office.  Accordingly,  our  Blessed 
Saviour,  the  One  Great  High  Priest,  the  Antitype 
of  all  Priests  who  went  before  Him,  and  the  Lord 
and  Strength  of  all  who  come  after,  began  his  mani- 
festation of  Himself  by  two  acts  of  Zeal.  When 
twelve  years  old  He  deigned  to  put  before  us  in  re- 
presentation the  sacredness  of  this  duty,  when  He 
remained  in  the  Temple  "  while  His  father  and 
mother  sought  Him  sorrowing,"  and  on  their  find- 
ing Him,  returned  answer,  "  Wist  ye  not  that  I 
must  be  about  My  Father's  business?"  And  again, 
at  the  opening  of  His  public  Ministry,  He  went  into 
the  Temple,  and  "  made  a  scourge  of  small  cords, 
and  drove  out  the  sheep  and  oxen,  and  overthrew 
the  changers'  tables  ^"  that  profaned  it ;  thus  fulfil- 
ing  the  prophecy  contained  in  the  text,  "  The  Zeal 
of  Thine  House  hath  eaten  Me  up." 

Being  thus  consumed  by  Zeal  himself,  no  wonder 
He  should  choose  his  followers  from  among  the 
Zealous.      James    and     John,    whom    He  called 

'  Deut.  xxxiii.  8  —  11.     Numb.  xxv.  12,  13. 
'  Luke  ii.  48,  49.     John  ii.  15. 


428  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

Boanerges,  the  sons  of  thunder,  had  warm  hearts, 
when  He  called  them,  however  wanting  in  know- 
ledge ;  and  felt  as  if  an  insult  offered  to  their  Lord 
should  have  called  down  fire  from  Heaven.  Peter 
cut  off  the  right  ear  of  one  of  those  who  seized  Him. 
Simon  was  of  the  sect  of  the  Zealots.  St.  Paul's 
case  is  still  more  remarkable.  He,  in  his  attach- 
ment to  the  elder  Covenant  of  God,  had  even 
fought  against  Christ ;  but  he  did  so  from  earnest- 
ness, from  being  "  zealous  towards  God,"  though 
blindly.  He  "  verily  thought  with  himself,  that  he 
ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  and  acted  "  in  ignorance  ^ ;" 
so  he  was  spared.  With  a  sort  of  heavenly  com- 
passion his  persecuted  Lord  told  him,  that  it  was 
"  hard  for  him  to  kick  against  the  pricks ;"  and 
turned  his  ignorant  zeal  to  better  account.  On 
the  same  ground  rests  the  commendation  which 
that  Apostle  bestows  in  turn  upon  his  countrymen, 
while  he  sorrowfully  condemns  their  unpardonable 
obstinacy.  "  My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God 
for  Israel,"  he  says,  "  is,  that  they  might  be  saved ; 
for  I  bear  them  record,  that  they  have  a  Zeal  of 
God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge  ^"  They 
were  guilty,  because  they  might  have  known  what 
they  did  not  know ;  but  so  far  as  they  were  zealous, 
they  claimed  from  him  a  respectful  notice,  and 
were  far  better  surely  than  those  haughty  scomers, 

'  Acts  xxvi.  9.     1  Tim.  i.  13.  '  Rom.  x.  1. 


XXXI]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  429 

the  Romans,  who  felt  no  concern  whether  there  was 
a  God  or  not,  worshipped  one  idol  as  readily  as 
another,  and  spared  the  Apostles  from  contemptuous 
pity.  Of  these  was  Gallio,  who  "  cared  for  none 
of  those  things,"  which  either  Jews  or  Christians 
did.  Such  men  are  abominated  by  our  Holy  Lord, 
who  "  honours  them  that  honour  Him,"  while 
"  they  that  despise  Him,  are  lightly  esteemed  \" 
He  signifies  this  judgment  of  the  lukewarm  and  dis- 
loyal, in  His  message  to  the  Church  of  Laodicea.  "  I 
know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot. 
I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So  then,  because 
thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will 
cast  thee  forth  out  of  My  mouth  ^"  Thus  positive 
misbelief  is  a  less  odious  state  of  mind  than  the 
temper  of  those  who  are  indifferent  to  religion,  who 
say  that  one  opinion  is  as  good  as  the  other,  and 
contemn  or  ridicule  those  who  are  in  earnest. 
Surely,  if  this  world  be  a  scene  of  contest  between 
good  and  evil,  as  Scripture  declares,  "  he  that  is  not 
with  Christ,  is  against  Him ;"  and  Angels  who 
witness  what  is  going  on,  and  can  estimate  its 
seriousness,  may  well  cry  out  "  Curse  ye  Meroz, 
curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof,  because 
they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help 
of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty  \" 

I  do  not  deny  that  this  view  of  the   subject  is 
different  from  that  which    certain    principles  and 

'  1  Sam.  ii.  30.  '  Rev.  iii.  15,  16.  '  Judg.  v.  23. 


430  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

theories  now  current  in  the  world  would  lead  us  to 
adopt;  but  this  surely  is  no  reason  that  it  should 
not  be  true,  unless  indeed,  amid  the  alternate  suc- 
cesses of  good  and  evil,  there  be  any  infallible 
token  given  us  to  ascertain  the  superior  illumina- 
tion of  the  present  century  over  all  those  which 
^  have  preceded  it.  In  fact,  we  have  no  standard 
I  of  Truth  at  all  but  the  Bible,  and  to  that  I  would 
appeal.  "  To  the  Law  and  to  the  Testimony ;"  if 
the  opinions  of  the  day  are  conformable  to  it,  let 
them  remain  iti  honour,  but  if  not,  however  popu- 
lar they  may  be  at  the  moment,  they  will  surely 
come  to  nought.  It  is  the  present  fashion  to  call 
Zeal  by  the  name  of  intolerance,  and  to  account 
intolerance  the  chief  of  sins ;  that  is,  any  earn- 
estness for  one  opinion  above  another  concerning 
God's  nature,  will,  and  dealings  with  man, — or,  in 
other  words,  any  earnestness  for  the  Faith  once 
delivered  to  the  Saints,  any  earnestness  for  Reve- 
lation as  such.  Surely,  in  this  sense,  the  Apostles 
were  the  most  intolerant  of  men ;  what  is  it  but 
intolerance  in  this  sense  of  the  word  to  declare, 
that  "  he  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life,  and  he  that 
hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life ;"  that  "  they 
that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord ;"  that  "  neither  fornica- 
tors, nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  covetous, 
nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God;"  that  we  must  not  even  "eat" 

1 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  431 

with  a  brother  who  is  one  of  such ;  that  we  may 
not  "  receive  into  our  houses,"  or  "  bid  God  speed" 
to  any  one  who  comes  to  us  without  the  "  doctrine 
of  Christ  ?"  Has  not  St.  Paul,  whom  many  seem 
desirous  of  making  an  Apostle  of  less  rigid  principles 
than  his  brethren,  said  even  about  an  individual, 
"  The  Lord  reward  him  according  to  his  works  ^ !" 
and  though  we  of  this  day  have  not  the  spiritual 
discernment  which  alone  can  warrant  such  a  form 
of  words  about  this  man  or  that,  have  we  not  here 
given  us  a  clear  evidence,  that  there  are  cases  in 
which  God's  glory  is  irreconcileable  with  the  sal- 
vation of  sinners,  and  when  in  consequence,  it  is 
not  unchristian  to  acquiesce  in  His  judgments  upon 
them  ?  These  words  were  deliberately  written  by 
St.  Paul,  in  the  closing  days  of  his  life,  when  his 
mind  was  most  calm  and  heavenly,  his  hope  most 
assured,  his  reward  immediately  in  view ;  circum- 
stances which  render  it  impossible  for  any  one  who 
even  reverences  St.  Paul  as  a  man  of  especial  holi- 
ness, to  explain  them  away,  not  to  insist  on  the 
argument  from  his  inspiration. 

Such  is  Zeal,  a  Christian  grace  to  the  last,  while 
it  is  also  an  elementary  virtue ;  equally  belonging 
to  the  young  convert,  and  the  matured  believer ; 
displayed  by  Moses  at  the  first,  when  he  slew  the 
Egyptian,  and  by  St.  Paul  in  his  last  hours,  while 
he  reached  forth  his  hand  for  his  heavenly  crown. 

'  1  John  V.  12.  2  Thes.  i.  8,  9.  1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10.  v.  11, 
2  John  10,  11.     2  Tim.  iv.  14. 


432  ST.  SIMON  AiND  ST.  JUDE.  [Skrm. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  Zeal  is  an  imperfect  virtue ; 
that  is,  in  our  fallen  state,  it  will  ever  be  attended 
by  unchristian  feelings,  if  it  is  cherished  by  itself. 
This  is  the  case  with  many  other  tempers  of  mind, 
which  yet  are  absolutely  required  of  us.  Who 
denies  that  it  is  a  duty  in  the  returning  sinner  to 
feel  abhorrence  of  his  past  offences,  and  a  dread  of 
God's  anger  ?  yet  such  feelings,  unless  faith  accom- 
pany them,  lead  to  an  unfruitful  remorse,  to  de- 
spair, to  hardened  pride ;  or  again,  to  perverse 
superstitions.  Not  that  humiliation  is  wrong  in 
any  sense  or  degree,  but  it  induces  collateral  weak- 
nesses or  sins,  from  unduly  exciting  one  side  of 
our  imperfect  nature.  Mercy  becomes  weakness, 
when  unattended  by  a  sense  of  justice  and  firmness ; 
the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  becomes  craft,  unless 
it  be  received  into  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove. 
And  Zeal,  in  like  manner,  though  an  essential  part 
of  a  Christian  temper,  is  but  a  part ;  and  is  in  itself 
imperfect,  even  for  the  very  reason  that  it  is  ele- 
mentary. Hence  it  appropriately  fills  so  prominent 
a  place  in  the  Jewish  Dispensation,  which  was  in- 
tended to  lay  the  foundation,  as  of  Christian  Faith, 
so  of  the  Christian  character.  Whether  we  read 
the  injunctions  delivered  by  Moses  against  ido- 
latry and  idolaters,  or  trace  the  actual  history  of 
God's  chosen  servants,  such  as  Phinehas,  Samuel, 
Elijah,  and  especially  David,  we  find  that  the  Law 
was  peculiarly  a  Covenant  of  Zeal.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Gospel  brings  out  into  its  full  propor- 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  4^ 

tions,  that  perfect  temper  of  mind,  which  the  Law 
enjoined  indeed,  but  was  deficient  both  in  enforcing 
and  creating, — Love ;  that  is,  Love  or  Charity,  as 
described  by  St.  Paul  in  his  first  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  which  is  not  merely  brotherly-love, 
(a  virtue  ever  included  in  the  notion  of  Zeal  itself,) 
but  a  general  temper  of  gentleness,  meekness, 
sympathy,  tender  consideration,  open-heartedness 
towards  all  men,  brother  or  stranger,  who  come 
in  our  way.  In  this  sense,  Zeal  is  of  the  Law,  and 
Love  of  the  Gospel ;  and  Love  perfects  Zeal  puri- 
fying and  regulating  it.  Thus  the  Saints  of  God 
go  on  unto  perfection.  Moses  ended  his  life  as 
"  the  meekest  of  men,"  though  he  began  it  with 
undisciplined  Zeal,  which  led  him  to  a  deed  of  vio- 
lence. St.  John,  who  would  call  down  fire  from 
heaven,  became  the  Apostle  of  love ;  St.  Paul,  who 
persecuted  Christ's  servants,  "  was  made  all  things 
to  all  men ;"  yet,  neither  of  them  lost  their  Zeal, 
though  they  trained  it  to  be  spiritual. 

Love,  however,  is  not  the  only  grace  which  is 
necessary  to  the  perfection  of  Zeal ;  Faith  is  another. 
This,  at  first  sight  may  sound  strange ;  for  what  is 
Zeal,  it  may  be  asked,  but  a  result  of  Faith  ?  wlio  is 
zealous  for  that  in  which  he  does  not  trust  and  de- 
light ?  Yet,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind,  that  we  have 
need  of  Faith,  not  only  that  we  may  direct  our  ac- 
tions to  a  right  object,  but  that  we  may  perform 
them  rightly ;  it  guides  us  in  choosing  the  means, 
as  well  as  the  end.     Now,  Zeal  is  very  apt  to  be 

VOL.  II.  F   f 


454  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

self-willed ;  it  takes  upon  itself  to  serve  God  in 
its  own  way.  This  is  evident  from  the  very  nature 
of  it ;  for,  in  its  ruder  form,  it  manifests  itself  in 
sudden  and  strong  emotions  at  the  sight  of  pre- 
sumption or  irreverence,  proceeding  to  action  almost 
as  a  matter  of  feeling  without  having  time  to  in- 
quire which  way  is  best.  Thus,  when  our  Lord 
was  seized  by  the  officers,  Peter  forthwith  "  drew 
his  sword,  and  struck  a  servant  of  the  High  Priest's, 
and  smote  off  his  ear  \"  Patience  then,  and  resig- 
nation to  God's  will,  are  tempers  of  mind  of  which 
Zeal  especially  stands  in  need, — that  dutiful  faith, 
which  will  take  nothing  for  granted  on  the  mere 
suggestion  of  nature,  looks  up  to  God  with  the 
eyes  of  a  servant  towards  his  master,  and,  as  far  as 
may  be,  ascertains  His  will  before  it  acts.  If  this 
heavenly  corrective  be  wanting.  Zeal,  as  I  have 
said,  is  self-willed  in  its  temper ;  while,  by  using 
sanctions,  and  expecting  results  of  this  world,  it 
becomes  (what  is  commonly  called,)  political.  Here, 
again,  we  see  the  contrast  between  the  Jewish  and 
the  Christian  Dispensations.  The  Jewish  Law  being 
a  visible  system,  sanctioned  by  temporal  rewards 
and  punishments,  necessarily  involved  the  duty  of 
a  political  temper  on  the  part  of  those  who  were 
under  it.  They  were  bound  to  aim  at  securing  the 
triumph  of  Religion  here;  realizing  its  promises, 
enjoying  its  successes,  enforcing  its  precepts  with 

'  Matt.  xxvi.  51. 


XXXI]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  4^5 

the  sword.  This,  I  say,  was  their  duty ;  and,  as 
fulfilling  it,  among  other  reasons,  David  is  called  "  a 
man  after  God's  own  heart."  But  the  Gospel 
teaches  us  to  "  walk  by  Faith,  not  by  sight ;"  and 
Faith  teaches  us  so  to  be  zealous,  as  still  to  forbear 
anticipating  the  next  world,  but  to  wait  till  the 
Judoe  shall  come.  St.  Peter  drew  his  sword,  in 
order  (as  he  thought)  to  realize  at  once  that  good 
work  on  which  his  heart  was  set,  our  Lord's  de- 
liverance ;  and,  on  this  very  account,  he  met  with 
that  Saviour's  rebuke,  who  presently  declared  to 
Pilate,  that  His  Kingdom  was  not  of  this  world, 
else  would  His  servants  fight.  Christian  Zeal, 
therefore,  ever  bears  in  mind  that  the  Mystery  of 
Iniquity  is  to  continue  on  till  the  Avenger  solves  it 
once  for  all ;  it  renounces  all  hope  of  hastening 
His  coming,  all  desire  of  intruding  upon  His  work. 
It  has  no  vain  imaginings  about  the  world's  real 
conversion  to  Him,  however  men  may  acknowledge 
Him  outwardly,  knowing  that  it  lies  in  wickedness. 
It  has  recourse  to  no  officious  modes  of  propagating 
or  strengthening  His  truth.  It  does  not  flatter  and 
ally  itself  with  Samaria,  in  order  to  repress  Syria. 
It  does  not  exalt  an  Iduma^an  as  its  king,  though  he 
be  willing  to  beautify  the  Temple,  or  has  influence 
with  the  Emperors  of  the  World.  It  plans  no 
intrigues ;  it  recognises  no  parties ;  it  relies  on  no 
arm  of  flesh.  It  looks  for  no  essential  improve- 
ments or  permanent  reformations,  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  those  precious  gifts  which  are  ever  pure  in 
F  f  2 


436  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

their  origin,  ever  corrupted  in  man's  use  of  them. 
It  acts  acording  to  God's  will,  (this  time  or  that, 
as  it  comes,)  boldly  and  promptly ;  yet  letting  each 
act  stand  by  itself,  as  a  sufficient  service  to  Him, 
not  connecting  them  by  hope,  or  vi^orking  them 
into  system,  further  than  He  commands.  In  a 
word.  Christian  Zeal  is  not  political. 

Two  reflections  arise  from  considering  this  last 
characteristic  of  the  virtue  in  question ;  and  with 
a  brief  notice  of  these  I  will  conclude. 

1.  First,  it  is  too  evident  how  grievously  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  erred  in  this  part  of  Christian 
duty.  Let  her  doctrines  be  as  pure  as  her  defend- 
ers represent,  still  she  has  indisputably  made  the 
Church  an  instrument  of  worldly  politics  by  a 
"  zeal  not  according  to  knowledge."  Let  us  grant 
that  her  doctrine  was  not  fatally  corrupted  till  the 
sixteenth  century,  nevertheless,  from  the  eleventh 
at  least,  she  has  made  Christ's  Kingdom  of  this 
world.  I  will  not  inquire  whether  she  committed 
the  additional  most  miserable  sin  of  rebellion 
against  Csesar ;  though  from  what  we  see  around 
us  at  this  day,  there  is  great  reason  to  fear,  that 
from  the  beginning  of  her  power  she  has  been 
tainted  with  it.  But  consider  the  principles  re- 
cognised in  her  practice,  though  not  adopted  into 
her  formal  teaching,  since  the  date  I  have  men- 
tioned, and  then  say,  whether  she  has  not  failed  in 
this  essential  duty  of  a  Christian  Witness,  viz.  in 
preserving  the  spiritual  character  of  Christ's  king- 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  457 

dom '.  In  saying  this,  I  would  not  willingly  deny 
the  great  debt  we  owe  to  that  Church  for  her  faith- 
ful custody  of  the  Faith  itself  through  so  many 
centuries ;  nor  seem  unmindful  of  the  circum- 
stances of  other  times,  the  gradual  growth  of  reli- 
gious error,  and  the  external  dangers  which  ap- 
peared to  place  the  cause  of  Christianity  itself  in 
jeopardy,  and  to  call  for  extraordinary  measures  of 
defence.  Much  less  would  I  speak  disrespectfully 
of  the  eminent  men,  who  were  the  agents  under 
Providence  in  various  stages  of  that  mysterious 
Dispensation,  and  whom,  however  our  Zeal  may 
burn,  we  must  in  very  Charity  believe  to  be, 
what  their  works  and  sufferings  betoken,  single- 
minded,  self-denying  servants  of  their  God  and 
Saviour. 

2.  The  Roman  Church  then  has  become  poli- 
tical ;  but  let  us  of  the  present  day,  beware  of  run- 
ning into  the  other  extreme,  and  of  supposing  that, 
because  Christ's  Kingdom  is  not  based  upon  this 
world,  that  it  is  not  connected  with  it.  Surely  it 
was  established  here  for  the  sake  of  this  world,  and 
must  ever  act  in  it,  as  if  a  part  of  it,  though  its 
origin  is  from  above.  Like  the  Angels  which  ap- 
peared to  the  Patriarchs,  it  is  a  Heavenly  Mes- 
senger in  human  form.     In  its  Polity,  its  Public 

'  Among  the  principles  referred  to  are  the  following,  which 
occur  among  the  Dictatus  Hildebrandi ;  "  Quod  liceat  illi  [Papae] 
imperatores  deponere  ;"  "  Quod  a  fidelitate  iniquorum  subditos 
potest  absolvere."     Vid.  Laud  against  Fisher,  p.  181. 


438  ST.  SIMON  AND  ST.  JUDE.  [Serm. 

Assemblies,  its  Rules  and  Ordinances,  its  Censures, 
and  its  Possessions,  it  is  a  visible  body,  and  to  ap- 
pearance, an  institution  of  this  world.  It  is  no 
faulty  zeal  to  labour  to  preserve  it  in  the  form  in 
which  Christ  gave  it. 

And  further,  it  should  ever  be  recollected,  that, 
though  the  Church  is  not  of  this  world,  yet  we  have 
assurance  from  God's  infallible  word,  that  there 
are  in  the  world  temporal  and  present  Dispensers 
of  His  Eternal  Justice.  We  are  expressly  told,  that 
"  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God ;"  that 
they  "  bear  not  the  sword  in  vain,  but  are  ministers 
of  God,  revengers  to  execute  wrath  upon  the  evil- 
doer," and  bestow  "  praise"  on  those  who  do  well. 
Hence,  as  being  gifted  with  a  portion  of  God's 
power,  they  hold  an  office  of  a  priestly  nature ', 
and  are  armed  with  the  fearful  sanction,  that  *'  they 
that  resist  them,  shall  receive  to  themselves  Judg- 
ment." On  this  ground,  religious  Rulers  have 
always  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to  act  as  in  God's 
place  for  the  promulgation  of  the  Truth  ;  and  the 
Church,  on  the  other  hand,  has  seen  her  obligation 
not  only  to  submit  to  them  in  things  temporal,  but 
zealously  to  co-operate  with  them  in  her  own  line, 
towards  those  sacred  objects  which  they  have  both 
in  common.  And  thus  has  been  happily  fulfilled 
for  fifteen  hundred  years,  Isaiah's  prophecy,  that 
"  kings  should  be  nursing  fathers  to  the  Church, 

'  Xctroupyot  GeoD.     Rom.  xiii.  1 — 6. 


XXXI.]  CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  439 

and  queens  her  nursing  mothers."  Yet,  clearly 
there  is  nothing  here,  either  of  a  self-willed  zeal,  or 
political  craft,  in  the  conduct  of  the  Church ;  inas- 
much as  she  has  but  submitted  herself  thereby  to 
the  guidance  of  the  revealed  Word. 

May  Almighty  God,  for  His  dear  Son's  sake, 
lead  us  safely  through  these  dangerous  times ;  so 
that,  while  we  never  lay  aside  our  Zeal  for  His 
honour,  we  may  sanctify  it  by  Faith  and  Charity, 
neither  staining  our  garments  by  wrath  or  violence, 
nor   soiling  them  with    the    dust  of  a   turbulent 


SERMON  XXXII. 


THE  FEAST  OF  ALL  SAINTS. 
USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS. 


Acts  i.  8. 


Ye  shall  be  Witnesses  unto  Me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth. 

So  many  were  the  wonderful  works  which  our 
Saviour  did  on  earth,  that  not  even  the  world  itself 
could  have  contained  the  books  recording  them. 
Nor  have  his  marvels  been  less  since  He  ascended 
on  high ; — those  works  of  higher  grace  and  more 
abiding  fruit,  wrought  in  the  souls  of  men,  from  the 
first  hour  till  now, — the  captives  of  His  power,  the 
ransomed  heirs  of  His  kingdom,  whom  He  has 
called  by  His  Spirit  working  in  due  season,  and  led 
on  from  strength  to  strength  till  they  appear  before 
His  face  in  Zion.  Surely  not  even  the  world  itself 
could  contain  the  records  of  His  love,  the  history 
of  those  many  Saints,  that  "  cloud  of  Witnesses," 
whom  we  to-day  celebrate.  His  purchased  posses- 
sion in  every  age !     We  crowd  these  all  up  into 


Serm.  XXXIL]  use  of  SAINTS'  DAYS.  441 

one  day ;  we  mingle  together  in  the  brief  remem- 
brance of  an  hour  all  the  choicest  deeds,  the  holiest 
lives,  the  noblest  labours,  the  most  precious  suffer- 
ings, which  the  sun  ever  saw.  Even  the  least  of 
those  Saints  were  the  contemplation  of  many  days, 
— even  the  names  of  them,  if  read  in  our  Service, 
would  outrun  many  settings  and  risings  of  the  light, 
— even  one  passage  in  the  life  of  one  of  them  were 
more  than  sufficient  for  a  long  discourse.  "  Who 
can  count  the  dust  of  Jacob,  and  the  number  of 
the  fourth  part  of  Israel  \"  Martyrs  and  Confes- 
sors, Rulers  and  Doctors  of  the  Church,  devoted 
Ministers  and  Religious  brethren,  kings  of  the 
earth  and  all  people,  princes  and  judges  of  the 
earth,  young  men  and  maidens,  old  men  and  chil- 
dren, the  first  fruits  of  all  ranks,  ages,  and  callings, 
gathered  each  in  his  own  time  into  the  paradise  of 
God.  This  is  the  blessed  company  which  to-day  meets 
the  Christian  pilgrim  in  the  Services  of  the  Church. 
We  are  like  Jacob,  when,  on  his  journey  home- 
wards, he  was  encouraged  by  a  heavenly  vision. 
"  Jacob  went  on  his  way,  and  the  Angels  of  God 
met  him ;  and  when  Jacob  saw  them,  he  said.  This 
is  God's  host,  and  he  called  the  name  of  that  place 
Mahanaim  ^" 

And  such  a  host  was  also  seen  by  the  favoured 
Apostle,  as  described  in  the  chapter  from  which  the 
Epistle  of  the  day  is  taken.     "  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a 

'  Numb,  xxiii.  10.  »  Gen.  xxxii.  1,  2. 


442  ALL  SAINTS,  [Serm. 

great  multitude,  which  no  man  coukl  number,  of 
all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues, 
stood  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes, 
and  palms  in  their  hands.  .  .  .  These  are  they 
which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have 
washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  \" 

This  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  num- 
ber, is  gathered  into  this  one  day's  commemoration, 
the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  Prophets,  the  noble 
army  of  Martyrs,  the  Children  of  the  Holy  Church 
Universal,  who  have  rested  from  their  labours. 

The  reason  of  this  disposition  of  things  is  as  fol- 
lows:— Some  centuries  ago  there  were  too  many 
Saints'  days ;  and  they  became  an  excuse  for  idle- 
ness. Nay,  worse  still,  by  a  great  and  almost  in- 
credible perverseness,  instead  of  glorifying  God  in 
His  Saints,  Christians  came  to  pay  them  an  honour 
approaching  to  divine  worship.  The  consequence 
was,  that  it  became  necessary  to  take  away  their 
Festivals,  and  to  commemorate  them  all  at  once  in  a 
summary  way.  Now  men  go  into  the  contrary  ex- 
treme. These  Holydays,  few  though  they  be,  are 
not  duly  observed.  Such  is  the  way  of  mankind, 
ever  contriving  to  slip  by  their  duty,  and  fall  into 
one  or  other  extreme  of  error.  Idle  or  busy,  they 
are  in  both  cases  wrong;  idle,  and  so  neglecting 
their  duties  towards  man  ;  busy,  and  so  neglecting 
their  duties  towards  God.     We  have  little  to  do 

*  Rev.  vii,  9.  14. 


XXXIL]  USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS.  443 

however  with  the  faults  of  others; — let  us  then, 
passing  by  the  error  of  idling  time  under  pretence 
of  observing  many  Holydays,  rather  speak  of  the 
fault  of  our  own  day,  viz.,  of  neglecting  to  observe 
them,  and  that,  under  pretence  of  being  too  busy. 

Our  Church  abridged  the  number  of  Holydays, 
thinking  it  right  to  have  but  a  few ;  but  we  ac- 
count any  as  too  much.  For,  taking  us  as  a  nation,  ' 
we  are  bent  on  gain ;  and  grudge  any  time  which 
is  spent  without  reference  to  our  worldly  business. 
We  should  seriously  reflect  whether  this  neglect  of 
the  appointments  of  religion  be  not  a  great  national 
sin.  As  to  individuals,  I  can  easily  understand  how 
it  is  that  they  pass  them  over.  A  considerable 
number  of  persons,  (for  instance,)  have  not  their 
time  at  their  own  disposal.  They  are  in  service  or 
business,  and  it  is  their  duty  to  attend  to  the  orders 
of  their  masters  or  employers, — which  keep  them 
from  Church.  Or  they  have  particular  duties  to 
keep  them  at  home,  though  they  are  their  own 
masters.  Or,  it  even  may  be  said,  that  the  circum- 
stances under  which  they  find  their  calling,  the 
mode  in  which  it  is  exercised  by  others,  may  be  a 
sort  of  reason  for  doing  as  others  do.  It  may  be 
such  a  worldly  loss  to  them  to  leave  their  trade  on  a 
Saint's-day  and  go  to  Church,  as  to  appear  to  them 
a  reason  in  conscience  for  their  not  doing  so.  I 
do  not  wish  to  give  an  opinion  upon  this  case  or 
that,  which  is  a  matter  for  the  individual  imme- 
diately concerned.     Still,  I   say  on  tlic  whole,  that 


444  ALL  SALNTS.  [Serm. 

State  of  society  must  be  defective,  which  renders  it 
necessary  for  the  Ordinances  of  religion  to  be  neg- 
lected. There  must  be  a  fault  somewhere ;  and  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  one  of  us  to  clear  himself  of  his 
own  portion  of  the  fault,  to  avoid  partaking  in  other 
men's  sins,  and  to  do  his  utmost  that  others  may 
extricate  themselves  from  the  blame  too. 

I  say  this  neglect  of  religious  Ordinances  is  an 
especial  fault  of  these  latter  ages.  There  was  a 
time  when  men  openly  honoured  the  Gospel ;  and 
when,  consequently,  they  had  each  of  them  more 
means  of  becoming  religious.  The  institutions  of 
the  Church  were  impressed  upon  the  face  of  society. 
Dates  were  reckoned  not  so  much  by  months  and 
seasons,  as  by  sacred  Festivals.  The  world  kept 
pace  with  the  Gospel ;  the  arrangements  of  legal 
and  commercial  business  were  regulated  by  a 
Christian  rule.  Something  of  this  still  remains 
among  us ;  but  such  customs  are  fast  vanishing. 
Mere  grounds  of  utility  are  considered  sufficient  for 
re-arranging  the  order  of  secular  engagements.  Men 
think  it  waste  of  time  to  wait  upon  the  course  of  the 
Christian  year ;  and  they  think  they  gain  more  by 
a  business-like  method,  and  the  neatness,  dispatch, 
and  clearness  in  their  worldly  transactions  conse- 
quent upon  it,  (and  this  perhaps  they  really  do 
gain,)  but  they  think  they  gain  more  by  it,  than 
they  lose  by  dropping  the  Memorials  of  religion. 
These  they  really  do  lose ;  they  lose  those  regula- 
tions which  at  stated  times  brought  the  concerns  of 


XXXII.]  USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS.  445 

another  life  before  their  minds;  and,  if  the  truth 
must  be  spoken,  they  often  rejoice  in  losing  what 
officiously  interfered,  as  they  consider,  with  their 
temporal  schemes,  and  reminded  them  they  were 
mortal. 

Or  view  another  part  of  the  subject.  It  was 
once  the  custom  for  the  Churches  to  be  open 
through  the  day,  that  at  spare  times  Christians 
might  enter  them,  and  be  able  to  throw  off  for  some 
minutes  the  cares  of  the  world  in  religious  exer- 
cises. Services  were  appointed  for  separate  hours 
in  the  day,  to  allow  of  the  attendance  in  whole  or 
part  of  those  who  happened  to  be  at  hand.  Those 
who  could  not  come  still  might  keep  their  service- 
book  with  them ;  and  at  least  repeat  at  times  the 
prayers  in  private,  which  were  during  the  passing 
hour  offered  in  Church.  Thus  provision  was  made 
for  the  spiritual  sustenance  of  Christians  day  by 
day ;  for  that  daily-needed  bread  which  far  exceeds 
"  the  bread  that  perisheth."  All  this  is  now  at 
an  end.  We  dare  not  open  our  Churches,  lest 
men  should  profane  them  instead  of  worshipping. 
As  for  an  accurately  arranged  Ritual,  too  many  of 
us  have  learned  to  despise  it,  and  to  consider  it  a 
form.  Thus  the  world  has  encroached  on  the 
Church ;  the  lean  kine  have  eaten  up  the  fat.  We 
are  threatened  with  years  of  spiritual  famine,  with 
the  triumph  of  the  enemies  of  the  Truth,  and  with 
the  stifling,  or  at  least  enfeebling  of  the  Voice  of 
Truth ; — and  why  ?    All  because  we  have  neglected 


446  ALL  SAINTS.  [Serm. 

those  religious  observances  through  the  year  which 
the  Church  commands,  which  we  are  bound  to 
observe ;  while,  by  neglecting,  we  have  provided  a 
sort  of  argument  for  those  who  have  wished  to  do 
them  away  altogether.  No  party  of  men  can  keep 
together  without  stated  meetings ;  assemblings  are, 
we  know,  the  very  life  of  political  associations. 
Viewing,  then,  the  institutions  of  the  Church  merely 
in  a  human  point  of  view,  how  can  we  possess 
power  as  Christians,  if  we  do  not,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  what  great  power  we  should  have,  if  we  did, 
flock  to  the  Ordinances  of  religion,  present  a  bold 
face  to  the  world,  and  show  that  Christ  has  still 
servants  true  to  Him?  That  we  come  to  Church 
on  Sundays  is  a  help  this  way  doubtless;  but  it 
would  be  a  vastly  more  powerful  evidence  of  our 
earnestness  for  the  Truth,  if  we  testified  for  Christ 
at  some  worldly  inconvenience  to  ourselves,  which 
would  be  the  case  with  some  of  us  on  other  Holy- 
days.  Can  we  devise  a  more  powerful  mode  of 
preaching  to  men  at  large,  and  one  in  which  the 
most  unlearned  and  most  timid  among  us  might 
more  easily  partake,  of  preaching  Christ  as  a  warn- 
ing and  a  remembrance,  than  if  all  who  loved  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  made  it  a  practice 
to  throng  the  Churches  on  the  week-day  Festivals 
and  various  Holy  Seasons,  allowing  less  religious 
persons  the  while  to  make  the  miserable  gains, 
which  greater  keenness  in  the  pui'suit  of  this  world 
certainly  does  secure  ? 

1 


XXXII.]  USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS.  447 

I  have  not  yet  mentioned  the  peculiar  benefit  to 
be  derived  from  the  observance  of  Saints'  days; 
which   obviously  lies   in   their  setting   before  the 
mind  patterns  of  excellence  for  us  to  follow.     In 
directing  us  to  these,  the  Church  does  but  fulfil  the 
design  of  Scripture.     Consider  how  great  a  part  of 
the  Bible  is  historical ;  and  how  much  of  the  history 
is  merely  the  lives  of  those  men  who  were  God's  in- 
struments in  their  respective  ages.     Some  of  them 
are  no  patterns  for  us,  others  show  marks  of  the 
corruption  under  which  human  nature  universally 
lies : — yet  the  chief  of  them  are  specimens  of  espe- 
cial faith  and  sanctity,  and  are  set  before  us  with  the 
evident  intention  of  exciting  and  guiding  us  in  our 
religious  course.     Such  are  above  others,  Abraham, 
Joseph,  Job,  Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel,  David,  Elijah, 
Jeremiah,  Daniel,  and  the  like ;  and  in  the  New 
Testament  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists.     First  of 
all,  and   in  His   own  incommunicable  glory,    our 
Blessed  Lord  Himself  gives  us  an  example;  but 
His  faithful  servants  lead  us  on  towards  Him,  and 
confirm  and  diversify  His  pattern.     Now,  it   has 
been  the  aim  of  our  Church  in  her  Saints'  days  to 
maintain  the  principle,  and  set  a  pattern,   of  this 
peculiarly  Scriptural  teaching. 

And  we,  at  the  present  day,  have  particular  need 
of  the  discipline  of  such  commemorations  as  Saints' 
days,  to  recall  us  to  ourselves.  It  is  a  fault  of  these 
times,  (for  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  faults 
of  other  times)  to  despise  the  past  in  comparison  of 


448  ALL  SAINTS.  [Serm. 

the   present.      We   can    scarce  open   any  of   the 
lighter  or  popular  publications  of  the  day  without 
falling  upon  some  panegyric  on  ourselves,  on  the 
illumination   and  humanity   of   the  age,  or    upon 
some  disparaging  remarks  on  the  wisdom  and  vir- 
tues of  former  times.     Now  it  is  a  most  salutary 
thing  under  this  temptation  to  self-conceit  to  be 
reminded  that  in  all  the  highest  qualifications  of 
human  excellence,  we  have  been  far  outdone  by 
men  who  lived  centuries  ago ;  that  a  standard  of 
truth  and  holiness  was  then  set  up,  which  we  are  not 
likely  to  reach,  and  that,  as  for  thinking  to  become 
wiser  and  better,  or  more  acceptable  to  God  than 
they  were,  it  is  a  mere  dream.     Here  we  are  taught 
the  true  value  and  relative  importance  of  the  va- 
rious gifts  of  the  mind.     The  showy  talents,  in  which 
the  present  age  prides  itself,  fade  away  before  the 
true  metal  of  Prophets  and  Apostles.     Its  boasted 
"  knowledge"  is  but  a  shadow  of  "  power"  before 
the  vigorous  strength  of  heart  which  they  displayed, 
who  could  calmly  work  moral  miracles,  as  well  as 
speak  with  the  lips  of  inspired  wisdom.     Would 
that  St.  Paul  or  St.  John  could  rise  from  the  dead  ! 
How  would  the  minute  philosophers  who  now  con- 
sider intellect  and  enlightened  virtue  all  their  own, 
shrink  into    nothing  before    those    well-tempered, 
sharp-edged  weapons  of  the  Lord  !  Are  not  we  come 
to  this  ?  is  it  not  our  shame  as  a  nation,  that,  if  not 
the  Apostles  themselves,  at  least  the  ecclesiastical 
System  they  devised,  and  the  Order  they  founded, 


XXXII.]  USE  OF  SAINTS'  DAYS.  449 

are  viewed  with  coldness  and  disrespect  ?  How  few 
are  there  who  look  with  reverent  interest  upon  the 
Bishops  of  the  Church  as  the  Successors  of  the 
Apostles ;  honouring  them,  if  they  honour,  merely 
because  they  like  them  as  individuals,  and  not  from 
any  thought  of  the  peculiar  sacredness  of  their 
office !  Well,  let  it  be !  the  End  must  one  time 
come.  It  cannot  be  that  things  should  stand  still 
thus.  Christ's  Church  is  indestructible ;  and,  last- 
ing on  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  this  world,  she 
mmt  rise  again  and  flourish,  when  the  poor  crea- 
tures of  a  day  who  opposed  her,  have  crumbled  into 
dust.  "  No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  her  shall 
prosper."  "  Rejoice  not  against  me,  O  mine  enemy ! 
when  1  fall,  I  shall  arise ;  when  I  sit  in  darkness, 
the  Lord  shall  be  a  light  unto  me  '."  In  the  mean 
time  let  us  not  forget  our  duty ;  which  is,  after  the 
example  of  Saints,  to  take  up  our  cross  meekly  and 
pray  for  our  enemies. 

These  are  thoughts  suitably  to  be  impressed 
on  us,  on  ending  (as  we  do  now)  the  yearly 
Festivals  of  the  Church.  Every  year  brings  won- 
ders. We  know  not  any  year,  what  wonders  shall 
have  happened  before  the  circle  of  Festivals  has 
run  out  again,  from  St.  Andrew's  to  All  Saints*. 
Our  duty  then  is,  to  wait  for  the  Lord's  coming, 
to  prepare  His  way  before  Him,  to  pray  that 
when  He  comes  we  may  be  found  watching,  to 

*  Isaiah  liv.  17.     Micah  vii.  8. 
VOL.  II.  G  g 


450  ALL  SAINTS.  [Serm.  XXXIL 

pray  for  our  country,  for  our  King  and  all  in  au- 
thority under  him,  that  God  would  vouchsafe  to 
enlighten  the  understandings  and  change  the  hearts 
of  men  in  power,  and  make  them  act  in  His  faith 
and  fear,  for  all  orders  and  conditions  of  men,  and 
especially  for  that  branch  of  His  Church  which  He 
has  planted  here.  Let  us  not  forget,  in  our  lawful 
and  fitting  horror  at  evil  men,  that  they  have 
souls,  and  that  they  know  not  what  they  do,  when 
they  oppose  the  Truth.  Let  us  not  forget,  that  we 
are  sons  of  sinful  Adam  as  well  as  they,  and  have 
had  advantages  to  aid  our  faith  and  obedience 
above  other  men.  Let  us  not  forget,  that,  as  we 
are  called  to  be  Saints,  so  we  are,  by  that  very 
calling,  called  to  suffer ;  and,  if  we  suffer,  must  not 
think  it  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  that  is  to 
try  us,  nor  be  puffed  up  by  our  privilege  of  suffer- 
ing, nor  bring  suffering  needlessly  upon  us,  nor  be 
eager  to  make  out  we  have  suffered  for  Christ, 
when  we  have  but  suffered  for  our  faults,  or  not 
at  all.  May  God  give  us  grace  to  act  upon  these 
rules,  as  well  as  to  adopt  and  admire  them ;  and  to 
say  nothing  for  saying's  sake,  but  to  do  much  and 
say  little ! 


NOTE 

ON  SERMON  XIII.— P.  165. 


The  instrumentality  of  the  Spiritual  Sustenance  received  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  in  the  renewal  of  the  whole  man,  body  as  well  as 
soul,  in  holiness  and  immortality,  is  a  doctrine  so  solemn,  so 
momentous  in  its  influence  upon  the  entire  Christian  system,  and 
so  little  understood  at  the  present  day,  that  it  may  be  right  to 
cite  one  or  two  authorities  in  support  of  it.  This  is  done,  not 
under  the  notion  that  such  authorities  will  weigh  with  certain  rea- 
soners,  but,  in  order  that  those  whose  minds  are  not  made  up  on 
the  subject,  may  see  how  far  they  must  go,  if  they  would  at  once 
scornfully  or  rudely  reject  the  doctrine  thus  sanctioned ;  involving, 
as  they  necessarily  must  in  such  treatment,  a  disrespect  towards 
writers,  whose  opinions,  though  not  infallible,  have  ever  a  claim 
on  the  consideration  and  deference  of  members  of  the  Church. 

Hooker  is  known  to  be  opposed  to  any  formal  doctrinal  asser- 
tion of  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacred  Elements,  and  espe- 
cially on  this  ground,  lest  any  such  should  withdraw  our  minds 
from  His  real  presence  and  operation  in  the  soul  and  body  of  the 
recipient.  The  following  passages  are  from  his  Ecclesiastical 
Polity,  V.  56,  57.  67.  "  We  are  by  nature  the  sons  of  Adam. 
When  God  created  Adam,  He  created  us  ^.^and  as  many  as  are 
descended  from  Adam,  have  in  themselve^"THe  root  out  of  which 
they  spring.  The  sons  of  God  we  neither  are  all,  nor  any  one  of 
us,  otherwise  than  only  by  grace  and  favour.  The  sons  of  God 
have  God's  own  natural  Son  as  a  second  Adam  from  heaven, 
whose  race  and  progeny  they  are  by  spiritual  and  heavenly  birth. 
God  therefore  loving  eternally  His  Son,  He  must  needs  eternally 

G  j;  2 


452  NOTE  ON  SERMON  XIII. 

in  Him  have  loved  and  preferred  before  all  others,  them  which 
are  spiritually  sithence  descended  and  sprung  out  of  Him  .... 
Our  being  in  Christ  by  eternal  foreknowledge,  saveth  us  not 
without  our  actual  and  real  adoption  into  the  fellowship  of  His 
Saints  in  this  present  world.     For  in  Him  we  actually  are,  by 
our  actual  incorporation  into  that  Society  which  hath  Him  for 
their  head ;  and  doth  make  together  with  Him  one  body,  (He 
and  they  in  that  respect  having  one  name,)  for  which  cause,  by 
virtue  of  this  mystical  conjunction,  we  are  of  Him,  and  in  Him, 
even  as  though  our  very  flesh  and  bones  should  be  made  con- 
tinuate  with  His.  .  .  .  The  Church  is  in  Christ,  as  Eve  was  in 
Adam.     Yea,  by  grace  we  are  every  of  us  in  Christ  and  in  His 
Church,  as  by  nature  we  were  in  those  our  first  parents.     God 
made  Eve  of  the  rib  of  Adam  ;  and  His  Church  He  frameth  out 
of  the  very  flesh,  the  very  wounded  and  bleeding  side  of  the  Son 
of  Man.     His  body  crucified,  and  His  blood  shed  for  the  life  of 
the  world,  are  the  True  Elements  of  that  heavenly  being,  which 
maketh  us  such  as  Himself  is,  of  whom  we  come.     For  which 
cause,  the  words  of  Adam  may  be  fitly  the  words  of  Christ  con- 
cerning His  Church,  *  Flesh  of  My  flesh,  and  bone  of  My  bones  ;' 
a  true  nature  extract  out  of  my  own  body.     So  that  in  Him, 
even  according  to  His  Manhood,  we,  according  to  our  heavenly 
being,  are  as  branches  in  that  root  out  of  which  they  grow.   .  .  . 
Adam  is  in  us  as  an  original  cause  of  our  nature,  and  of  that 
corruption  of  nature  which  causeth  death  ;   Christ,  as  the  cause 
original  of  restoration  to  life.     Thei  person  of  Adam  is  not  in  us, 
but  his  nature,  and  the  corruption  of  his  nature  derived  into  all 
men  by  propagation ;  Christ  having  Adam's  nature,  as  we  have, 
but  incorrupt,  deriveth  not  nature,  but  incorruption,  and  t/iat 
immediately  from  His  own  person,  into  all  that  belong  unto  Him. 
As  therefore  we  are  really  partakers  of  the  body  of  sin  and  death 
received  from  Adam,  so  except  we  be  truly  partakers  of  Christ, 
and  as  really  possessed  of  His  Spirit,  all  we  speak  of  eternal  life 
is  but  a  dream.      That  which  quickeneth  us  is  the  Spirit  of  the 
second  Adam,  and  His  Flesh  is   that  wherewith  He  quickeneth. 
That  which  in  Him  made  our  nature  uncorrupt  was  the  union  of 
lo 


NOTE  ON  SERMON  XIII.  453 

His  Deity  with  our  nature.  .  .  .  These  things  St.  Cyril  duly 
considering,  reproveth  their  speeches,  which  taught  that  only  the 
Deity  of  Christ  is  the  vine  whereupon  we  by  faith  do  depend  as 
branches,  and  that  neither  His  Flesh,  nor  our  bodies,  are  comprised 
in  this  resemblance.  For,  doth  any  man  doubt,  but  that  even  from 
the  Flesh  of  Christ,  our  very  bodies  do  receive  that  life  which  shall 
make  them  glorious  at  the  latter  day  ;  and  for  which  they  are 
already  accounted  parts  of  His  Blessed  Body  ?  .  .  .  .  Christ  is 
therefore,  both  as  God  and  as  man,  that  true  vine,  whereof  we, 
both  spiritually  and  corporally,  are  branches.  The  mixture  of  His 
bodily  substance  with  ours,  is  a  thing  which  the  ancient  Fathers 
disclaim."  ....  That  saving  grace  which  Christ  originally  is,  or 
hath  for  the  general  good  of  His  whole  Church,  by  Sacraments 
He  severally  deriveth  into  every  member  thereof.  Sacraments 
serve  as  the  instruments  of  God,  to  that  end  and  purpose.  .  .  . 
Our  souls  and  bodies  quickened  to  eternal  life,  are  effects,  the 
cause  whereof,  is  the  Person  of  Christ ;  His  Body  and  Blood  are 
the  true  well-spring  out  of  which  this  life  floweth.  So  that  His 
Body  and  Blood  are  in  that  very  subject  whereunto  they  minister 
life  ;  not  only  by  effect  or  operation,  even  as  the  influence  of  the 
heavens  is  in  plants,  beasts,  men,  and  in  every  thing  which  they 
quicken  ;  but  also  by  a  far  more  divine  and  mystical  kind  of 
union,  which  maketh  us  one  with  Him,  even  as  He  and  the  Father 
are  one.  The  real  presence  of  Christ's  most  Blessed  Body  and 
Blood  is  not  therefore  to  be  sought  for  in  the  Sacrament,  but  in  the 
worthy  receiver  of  the  Sacrament.  .  .  They  (the  Sacramentaries) 
grant  that  these  holy  Mysteries,  received  in  due  manner,  do  in- 
strumentally  both  make  us  partakers  of  the  grace  of  that  Body  and 
Blood  which  were  given  for  the  life  of  the  world,  and  besides  also 
im/art  to  us,evenin  true  andreal,thoughmysticalmanner,the  very 
person  of  our  Lord  Himself  ,  whole,  perfect,  and  entire."  ...  It  is 
impossible  to  do  justice  to  this  most  instructive  Author  by  mere 
extracts.  The  whole  of  his  discussion  should  be  diligently  read 
and  mastered  by  those  who  wish  to  know  the  sublime,  yet  cautious 
doctrine  of  our  Church  on  the  subject,  securing  essentials,  here  as 
elsewhere,  but  allowing  her  ch'ldren  to  differ  as  to  minuter  points. 


454  NOTE  ON  SERMON  XIII. 

It  is  plain,  that  Hooker  accounted  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  a  chief 
means  of  conveying  to  the  body  a  principle  of  life,  distinct  alto- 
gether from  that  physical  life  we  now  live,  the  seed  of  immorta- 
lity not  to  be  developed  till  the  resurrection,  the  rudiment  of  the 
spiritual  body  which  will  then  be  given  us.  (Vid.  §  68.  fin.) 
But  too  many  students  and  writers  glance  over  his  pages  in  a 
careless  way,  and  not  imagining  that  his  statements  are  to  be 
interpreted  in  their  plain  sense,  do  but  find  in  them  an  obscurity, 
which  they  attribute  to  an  antiquated  style ;  or  going  further, 
they  interpret  "  mystical"  to  mean  nothing  more  than  "figura- 
tive," and  consider  his  whole  discussion,  the  over-subtle  treat- 
ment of  a  true  but  merely  general  analogy  ;  or,  further  still,  a 
mere  unintelligible  disputation  derived  from  the  schools. 

Ignatius,  Epist.  ad  Ephes.  20.  tva  dprov  K'Xwvrtc,  oq  Itrri 
(papfjiaKuv  adavaaiaQ,  avriSoTog  tov  airoQavtiv,  ctWa  C^v  tv^lj\(jov 
XpiffTM  Sia  TvavTOc, 

Irenaeus  contr.  Haeres.  iv.  18.  plainly  discriminates  between 
the  body  considered  as  physical  and  mortal,  and  the  spiritual  body 
that  shall  be,  and  describes  the  Eucharist  as  the  present  seed  of 
the  latter.  Ilwe  rifv  aapKa  Xiyovaiv  eig  (pdopav  ■)(^iopEl.y,  Kai  yu?) 
^eriyEiv  Ttjc  ^w>}€,  T^f'  a?ro  rov  awfiaroQ  tov  Kvplov,  kuI  roii  alfiarOQ 
avTov  rpecpofjieyrfv  ;  .  .  .  a>c  yap  airo  yfJQ  aprog  TrpoGXa^foavojJievoQ 
T^v  tfCKXijfftv  TOV  Qeov  ovkIti  KOivoQ  apToc  (.(JTiv,  a)OC  ev'^^apiaTia, 
tK  dvo  TrpayfiaTWf  avyeirrrjKvla,  emyeiov  te  Kal  ovpaviov'  ovrwg 
Koi  Th(TU}jxaTa  ii^iov  fiETaXafifiavovTa  rfjg  tvxapioTt'ae./XTjK'ert  elvai 
(pdapra,  ti)v  eXTriSa  TtJQ  elg  aiiUvag  avaorafrewc  cj^ovra. 

Again,  v.  2.  'EtteiOj/  fxeXri  avTov  eufiEi',  Kal  ^la  rfjc  KTiareuiQ 
Tpe(p6fiEda,  r»/i'  Se  ktictlv  ij^lv  avToq  Trapi^Ei,  tov  ijXtov  avTOv  ava- 
teXXwv,  kcu  (ipiyuyv,  Kadwc  (oovXetul,  to  aico  ttjq  /crtfffwc  iroTijpwv, 
a'lfia  'iSiov  ti»y:xoXoyr/<7£v,  e^  ov  to  {jfiETEpov  ^evei  aifia,  Kal  tov  euro 
7-^C  KTiaEuyg  apTOv,  'iBiov  awjia  SufiEfianjjffaTO,  a<p'  ov  to.  t/fiETEpa 
av^Ei  aufxaTa.  'Ottote  ovv  Kal  to  KEKpafiivov  izoTijpiov,  Kal  6  ye- 
yoviiiQ  ftproc  iTri^f'x^rairov  \oyov  TOvQeoVfKal  yiverat »/  EV-)(api(TTia 
(TWfia  XpiiTTOv,  £K  TOVTtov  Se  av^Ei  Kal  avviaTaTai  ?/  Trjc  arapKog 
>/^wv  virofT-aair,  ttwc  Sektikijv  jii)  Etiai  Xiyovai  ti)v  aapKa  TrJQ 
^wptdc  rod  Qeov  ijrig  eaTi  ^w»)  a'tuyioc,  T))r  airo   rov  (Tiofiarog   Kal 


NOTE  ON  SERMON  XIII.  455 

aifiUTOQ   Tuiy  Kvpioy  Tpe(j>oiJ.£yr]v,  Kal  fitXog  avTov   virapj^pvaav  ; 

K.  T.  \. 

Athanasius,  de  Incamat.  §  16.  [p.  883,  ed.  Benedict.]  iSi^a^e 
yap  ijudg  tv  ry  tvy^^,  iv  tS  vvv  aliovi  alrelv  tov  eiriovmov  aproy, 
TOVTEfrri  TOV  fiiWovra,  ov  airapj^riv  f.-)^ofiev  kv  rfj  vvv  ^wy  rfjg 
aapKog  tov  Kvpiov  fitTa\afi(^avovTtQ  .  .  .  wvevfia  yap  ^woiroiovv 
r;  (TapE,  zcttl  tov  Kvpiov. 

Chrysostom,  Horn.  xxiv.  in  1  Cor.  [t.  xi.  p.  257,  ed.  Due] 
'ETTft^^  f]  TTpoTtpa  Trie  crapKOQ  (pvcng  t]  airo  yijg  SiaTrXaffdeicra  otto 
7-^e  afxapTiae  e00aff£  veKpiodfjvai,  Kal  ^ojiJQ  yeveadai  tpjjyiog,  eripav, 
wg  av  e'lTToi  Tig,  fxa^av  kui  l^vfir}v  kvti(Ti]yay£,  ttjv  lavTOv  aapKa, 
fviTei  fxev  ovaav  Tijv  avTrjv,  afxapTiag  ^e  airrjWayfiivrjv,  Kal  ^wijg 
yifiovaav'  Kal  irdaiv  eSwKev  avTJjg  fitTaXafi^dvtiv,  "iva  TavTy  Tpe- 
(l)6fievoi  Kal  Tr)v  TrpoTspav  airodifitvoi  Trjv  vEKpdv,  elg  tijv  ^ii)i)v  Tr)v 
aQavaTov  hia  Trig  TpaviCr]g  dvaKepaffOutfiev  TavTrjg. 

Vid.  Cyril.  Alex.  t.  vi.  Explan.  Duodec.  Cap.  p.  156.  d.  contr. 
Julian,  t.  viii.  p.  258  b.  &c.  ApoUin.  apud  Theodor.  Eranist. 
ii.  fin. 

A  number  of  instances  from  the  Fathers  is  supplied  in  John- 
son's Unbloody  Sacrifice,  Part  ii.  ch.  ii.  §  i.  Vid.  also  Petav. 
de  Incam.  ii.  8,  9.  x.  2.  Vid.  also  Patrick's  Mensa  Mystica, 
Sect.  i.  ch.  5.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer  to  the  Homily 
on  the  Sacrament,  part  i.,  and  our  Communion  Service,  for 
concise  statements  of  the  same  doctrine. 


THE    END. 


LONDON: 

GILBERT   &    RIVINGTON,   PRINTERS, 

ST.  John's  square. 


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